Timeline – Senator William V Roth

Timeline

• July 21, 1921, William Victor Roth, Jr. (WVR), born in Great Falls, Montana
• 1939, WVR graduated from Helena High School
• 1943, Graduated from the University of Oregon; enlisted in U.S. Arm
• June 6, 1944, Received orders overseas
• January 22, 1945, WVR is promoted to captain in U.S. Army
• September 17, 1945, Awarded the Bronze Star
• 1946, Discharged from the U.S. Army
• 1947, Graduated from Harvard University with MBA
• 1949, Graduated from Harvard University with law degree
• 1949, Became lawyer for Hercules Chemical Company in Virginia
• 1950, Admitted to the California State Bar
• 1951, Mrs. William V. Roth, Sr. (Clara Nelson), dies
• 1952-1954, Chairman and president of the Sixth District Young Republican Federation of Virginia
• 1955, WVR named senior legal counsel and was transferred to the headquarters of the Hercules Chemical Company in Wilmington, Delaware
• 1956, Elected Chairman of the Delaware Young Republicans
• 1958, Admitted to the Delaware State Bar
• 1960, Unsuccessfully ran for lieutenant governor of Delaware
• 1961, Elected chairman of the Republican State Committee of Delaware
• 1965, Delaware chairman of the 1965 multiple sclerosis fundraising campaign
• 1965, WVR marries Jane Richards
• November 8, 1966, Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives
• October 1966, Son William V. “Bud” Roth III is born
• 1967, Sworn in as congressman-at-large for Delaware
• 1967, Member of the House Republican Committee on Western Alliances that honored former President Dwight D. Eisenhower
• 1968, Compiled a comprehensive list of Federal domestic assistance programs. The Roth Catalog was published in the Congressional Record. This was updated yearly by the General Accounting Office as the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
• 1968, Reelected to U.S. House of Representatives
• 1969-2000, Bill Roth Youth Leadership Conference
• August 1969, Daughter Katharine K. Roth is born
• 1970, Introduced the Program Information Act
• 1970, Won the U.S. Senate seat vacated by retiring Senator John J. Williams. Senator Williams left office one day early giving Senator Roth seniority
• 1973, Vietnam War ends
• 1973, Vice President Spiro Agnew resigns, WVR suggests former Senator John J. Williams for Vice President
• 1974, President Richard M. Nixon resigns, Vice President Gerald R. Ford assumes presidency
• 1976, Reelected to the U.S. Senate
• 1977, William V. Roth, Sr., dies, age 93
• 1978, Roth-Kemp Tax Reduction Act
• 1979, Roth-Kemp Tax Cuts II
• 1979, Co-founded the Save-Our-Bucks Taskforce (SOBs)
• 1980, Named chairman of the 1980 Republican National Convention’s platform subcommittee on economic policy
• May 16, 1980, Dedication of the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building in Wilmington, Delaware
• 1981-1986, Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the Government Affairs Committee
• 1981-1986, Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee
• 1982, AT&T anti-trust lawsuit
• 1982, Elected to a third term in the U.S. Senate
• 1985, Wife Jane Richards Roth becomes judge of the U.S. Third Circuit Court
• January 29, 1986, Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
• 1986, Introduced the Child Sexual Abuse and Pornography Act
• 1987, Introduced the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Act
• 1987, Nomination of Robert Bork to the U.S. Supreme Court
• 1988, Cosponsored the Ocean Dumping Reform Act
• 1988, Elected to a fourth term in the U.S. Senate
• 1988, Sponsored the Ban on Plastic Guns bill
• 1989, Exxon Valdez oil spill
• 1989, Introduced the Deceptive Mailings Prevention Act
• 1989, Introduced the Save America Tax Act
• 1989, Introduced the Videotapes in Nursing Homes Act
• 1989, Whistleblower Protection Act
• 1989, WVR awarded the Ansel Adams Award
• 1990, Introduced the Peace Dividend Act
• 1990, Introduced the Older Worker Benefit Protection Act
• 1990, Introduced the Base Conversion, Community Development, and Worker Opportunity Act
• 1991, The Savings and Investment Incentive Act
• 1991, Co-sponsored a senate resolution with Senator Al Gore, , designating April 22 as Earth Day
• 1991, North American Free Trade Agreement Worker Adjustment Assistance Act
• 1991, Sponsored the Department of Defense Acquisition Reorganization Act
• 1991, Senate Resolution to form the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF)
• 1991, Bentsen-Roth Super IRA
• 1992, Sponsored the Mike Mansfield Fellowship Act
• 1992, American Automobile Labeling Act
• 1993, Introduced legislation to create a cabinet-level post for the Environmental Protection Agency
• 1993, Sponsored the Real Jobs for America Act
• 1993, Goals 2000: Educate America Act
• 1993, Sponsored the Professional Boxing Corporation Act
• 1994, Reelected to the U.S. Senate
• 1994, Sponsored the Savings and Investment Act
• 1995, Chairman of the Governmental Affairs Committee
• 1995, Bob Packwood resigns as chairman of the Senate Finance Committee
• 1995-2000, Roth chairman of the Senate Finance Committee
• 1997, Roth IRA passed into law
• 1997, Senate Finance Committee hearing on China Most Favored Nation trade status
• 1997, WVR elected president of North Atlantic Assembly, the parliamentary arm of NATO
• 1997, NATO Enlargement
• 1997-1998, Senate Finance Committee hearings on IRS investigation
• 1998, IRS Reform and Restructuring Act
• 1998-1999, Impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton
• 1999, Roth wrote The Power to Destroy
• 1999, 50th NATO Summit in Washington, C.
• 1999, Sponsored the Dog and Cat Protection Act
• 1999, Sponsored the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness Act
• 2000, Defeated in his bid for a sixth term in the U.S. Senate
• 2001, WVR donates congressional papers to the Historical Society of Delaware
• September 6, 2001, WVR and former President George H. W. Bush host a gala event at the Historical Society of Delaware to raise funds to preserve the congressional papers of William Roth, Jr.
• December 13, 2003, following a brief illness, William Roth, Jr., dies suddenly in Washington, D.C.