Jennings Randolph (March 8, 1902 – May 8, 1998) was an American politician from West Virginia. He was a member of the Democratic Party and was the last surviving member of the United States Congress to have served during the first 100 days of Franklin D. Roosevelt's administration.
Jennings Randolph, Former United States Senator
Jennings Randolph: Former United States Senator
Randolph was born in Salem, West Virginia, the son of Idell (Bingham) and Ernest Fitz Randolph. He was named after William Jennings Bryan. Both his grandfather and father had been mayors of Salem. He was elected in a special election on November 4, 1958, to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy triggered by the death of Matthew M. Neely. He was reelected in 1960, 1966, 1972 and 1978, and served from November 5, 1958, to January 3, 1985. Randolph was chairman of the Committee on Public Works (89th through 95th Congresses) and its successor, the Committee on Environment and Public Works (95th and 96th Congresses). He was not a candidate for reelection in 1984.
While a member of the House of Representatives, Randolph was the main sponsor of the Randolph-Sheppard Act, which was passed by Congress in 1936. This act, which is still in force, gives blind people preference in federal contracts for food service stands on federal properties such as military bases, as well as some other jobs. Organizations for blind people such as the National Federation of the Blind cite this act as one of the first and most successful programs to give blind people secure jobs with less supervision and more independence than other previous programs such as sheltered workshops. This act became one of the first instances of affirmative action legislation.
Source: wikipedia
