J. Caleb Boggs

James Caleb Boggs (May 15, 1909 – March 26, 1993) was an American lawyer and politician from Claymont, Delaware.

A liberal Republican, he was commonly known by his middle name, Caleb, frequently shortened to Cale.

He was a veteran of World War II, and a member of the Republican Party, who served three terms as U.S. Representative from Delaware, two terms as Governor of Delaware, and two terms as U.S. Senator from Delaware.

Boggs was born on May 15, 1909, at Cheswold, Delaware, the son of Edgar Jefferson and Lettie Vaughn Boggs.

Boggs joined the Delaware National Guard in 1926 and became a reserve officer that year.

In 1931, he married Elizabeth Muir; the couple had two children, and were members of the Methodist Church.

He graduated from the University of Delaware in 1931 with an A.B. degree and later graduated from Georgetown Law School in 1937 with an LLB degree.

In 1938, he was admitted to the Delaware State Bar Association and began the practice of law at Dover, Delaware.

During World War II, he served in the US Army with the 6th Armored Division fighting in Normandy, the Rhineland, the Ardennes, and central Europe.

He earned five Campaign Stars, the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster, and the Croix de Guerre with palm from France.

Boggs was appointed Associate Judge of the Family Court of New Castle County in 1946.

He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1946, defeating incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative Philip A. Traynor.

Boggs served in the U.S. House from January 3, 1947, to January 3, 1953.

He won the election a total of three times, also defeating Democrats J. Carl McGuigan in 1948, and Henry M. Winchester in 1950.

Boggs was elected Governor of Delaware in 1952, defeating incumbent Democratic Governor Elbert N. Carvel, and won a second term in 1956, defeating Democrat J. H. Tyler McConnell.

He served as governor from January 20, 1953, to December 30, 1960, when he resigned because of his upcoming U.S. Senate term.

On April 2, 1958, he signed the bill that ended capital punishment in Delaware.

Boggs was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1960, narrowly defeating incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator J. Allen Frear Jr. by 1.4 percentage points, and becoming the only Republican to defeat an incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator that year.

He served two terms from January 3, 1961, to January 3, 1973.

Boggs voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1968, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court.

He was again elected to the U.S. Senate in 1966, defeating Democrat James M. Tunnell Jr., son of the former U.S. Senator.

"On an objective, senatorial level, Senator Boggs was a militant, but rational environmentalist. A co-sponsor of the National Air Quality Standards Act of 1970, Senator Boggs helped to win congressional approval of this bill, which was signed into law by president Richard Nixon. Further, Cale Boggs was a co-sponsor and helped to write the Water Quality Act of 1965. In 1970, Senator Boggs helped to strengthen State authority to prohibit sewage and pesticide discharge into rivers and lakes and to provide for coordinated Federal attacks on river and lake pollution in the Water Quality Act of 1970.

Through these and other vital contributions in education, medicine, agriculture, transportation, and other domestic concerns, Senator Boggs left an enviable record of legislation aimed at improving the quality of life of all Americans and at widening opportunities for all of our citizens.

But, above all, Cale Boggs will probably be best remembered by his friends still serving in the Senate and by the people of Delaware as a friend, a man of warm humanity, and as a gentleman who sought ever to set people at ease through his common touch and deep consideration of other people's feelings.

Cale Boggs was a man whose friendship one easily sought and, once secured, was long treasured."

He lost re-election in 1972 in an upset by 3,162 votes (or 1.4%) by then-New Castle County councilman and the 46th and current president of the United States Joe Biden.

Boggs lost his bid for a third term in 1972 to the future 47th Vice President and 46th President, Democrat Joe Biden, then a New Castle County councilman.

Boggs was a reluctant candidate that year, being persuaded to run only to help avoid a divisive primary election.

Biden waged an energetic campaign, questioning Boggs's age and ability, and went on to defeat Boggs by approximately 1.4 percentage points.

In his last years, Boggs lived in Wilmington, Delaware, where he continued to practice law until retiring in the early 1980s.

Boggs' health declined in his final years due to diabetes and cancer.

His wife, Elizabeth, died on April 1, 1992, and he died just under a year later, on March 26, 1993, at Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware.

He is buried in the Old Presbyterian Cemetery in Dover, on the grounds of the Delaware State Museum.

The J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building at 844 King Street in Wilmington, Delaware is named for him.

Among the many tributes given by his fellow senators was one from U.S. Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia: