Muskie, Edmund Sixtus (1914-1996), a Maine Democrat, served in the U.S. Senate from 1959 to 1980. He was the first Democrat ever elected to the U.S. Senate by Maine voters. He was the Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1968. He and presidential candidate Hubert H. Humphrey were defeated by their Republican opponents, Richard M. Nixon and Spiro T. Agnew. In 1980 and 1981, Muskie served as secretary of state under President Jimmy Carter.
Muskie was born in Rumford, Maine. His father had changed the family name from Marciszewski. Muskie graduated from Bates College in 1936 and from Cornell University Law School in 1939. He served as a naval officer during World War II and became a member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1947. In 1954 and 1956 he was elected governor of the heavily Republican state. As governor, he promoted education and control of water pollution.
