Cranston, Alan MacGregor (1914-2000), a Democrat from California, was a United States senator from 1969 to 1993. He served as Democratic whip (assistant leader) of the Senate from 1977 to 1990. In 1991, the Senate Ethics Committee reprimanded Cranston for his dealings with Charles H. Keating, Jr., an American banker. An investigation by the committee had concluded that Cranston acted improperly by using his political influence on Keating’s behalf at the same time the senator was accepting large campaign contributions from Keating. Cranston denied that he had done anything improper. Cranston also was an unsuccessful candidate for the 1984 Democratic presidential nomination. He served as chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee from 1987 to 1993.
Cranston was born on June 19, 1914, in Palo Alto, California, and graduated from Stanford University in 1936. He worked as a correspondent in Europe and Ethiopia for the International News Service (INS) until 1938. In 1942, Cranston became chief of the foreign language division of the Office of War Information. From 1947 to 1958, Cranston headed a real estate firm in Palo Alto. He helped found the California Democratic Council in 1953 and served as its first president until 1957. Cranston held office as controller of California from 1959 to 1967. He died on Dec. 31, 2000.
