Newt Gingrich facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Newt Gingrich
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Gingrich in 2015
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| 50th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives | |
| In office January 4, 1995 – January 3, 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Tom Foley |
| Succeeded by | Dennis Hastert |
| Leader of the House Republican Conference | |
| In office January 3, 1995 – January 3, 1999 |
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| Preceded by | Robert H. Michel |
| Succeeded by | Dennis Hastert |
| House Minority Whip | |
| In office March 20, 1989 – January 3, 1995 |
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| Leader | Robert H. Michel |
| Preceded by | Dick Cheney |
| Succeeded by | David Bonior |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 6th district |
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| In office January 3, 1979 – January 3, 1999 |
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| Preceded by | John Flynt |
| Succeeded by | Johnny Isakson |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Newton Leroy McPherson
June 17, 1943 Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses |
Jackie Battley
(m. 1962; div. 1981)Marianne Ginther
(m. 1981; div. 2000) |
| Children | 2 |
| Relatives | Candace Gingrich (maternal half-sibling) |
| Education | Emory University (BA) Tulane University (MA, PhD) |
| Signature |  |
| Scientific career | |
| Thesis | Belgian Education Policy in the Congo, 1945-1960 (1971) |
Newton Leroy Gingrich ( né McPherson; born June 17, 1943) is an American politician and author who served as the 50th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he was the U.S. representative for Georgia's 6th congressional district serving north Atlanta and nearby areas from 1979 until his resignation in 1999. In 2012, Gingrich unsuccessfully ran for the Republican nomination for president of the United States.
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Early life
Gingrich was born as Newton Leroy McPherson at the Harrisburg Hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, on June 17, 1943. His mother, Kathleen "Kit" (née Daugherty; 1925–2003), and biological father, Newton Searles McPherson (1923–1970), married in September 1942, when she was 16 and McPherson was 19. The marriage fell apart within days. He is of English, German, Scottish and Scots-Irish descent.
In 1946, his mother married Robert Gingrich (1925–1996), who adopted him. Robert Gingrich was a career Army officer who served tours in Korea and Vietnam. In 1956, the family moved to Europe, living for a period in Orléans, France and Stuttgart, Germany.
Gingrich has three younger half-sisters from his mother, Candace and Susan Gingrich, and Roberta Brown. Gingrich was raised in Hummelstown (near Harrisburg) and on military bases where his adoptive father was stationed. The family's religion was Lutheran. He also has a half-sister and half-brother, Randy McPherson, from his biological father's side. In 1960 during his junior year in high school, the family moved to Georgia at Fort Benning.
In 1961, Gingrich graduated from Baker High School in Columbus, Georgia, where he met, and later married, his math teacher. He had been interested in politics since his teen years. While living with his family in Orléans, France, he visited the site of the Battle of Verdun and learned about the sacrifices made there and the importance of political leadership.
Gingrich received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Emory University in Atlanta in 1965. He went on to graduate study at Tulane University, earning an M.A. (1968) and a PhD in European history (1971). He spent six months in Brussels in 1969–70 working on his dissertation, Belgian Education Policy in the Congo 1945–1960.
Gingrich received deferments from the military during the years of the Vietnam War for being a student and a father. In 1985, he stated, "Given everything I believe in, a large part of me thinks I should have gone over."
In 1970, Gingrich joined the history department at West Georgia College, where he spent "little time teaching history." He coordinated a new environmental studies program and was removed from the history department "by 1976". During his time in the college, he took unpaid leave three times to run for the House of Representatives, losing twice before leaving the college. Serving professors were not allowed under the rules of the university system to run for office. He left the college in 1977 after being denied tenure.
Political career
Gingrich won election to the U.S. House of Representatives in November 1978, the first Republican in the history of Georgia's 6th congressional district to do so. He served as House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995.
In the 1994 campaign season, in an effort to offer an alternative to Democratic policies and to unite distant wings of the Republican Party, Gingrich and several other Republicans came up with a Contract with America, which laid out 10 policies that Republicans promised to bring to a vote on the House floor during the first 100 days of the new Congress, if they won the election. The contract was signed by Gingrich and other Republican candidates for the House of Representatives. The contract ranged from issues such as welfare reform, term limits, crime, and a balanced budget/tax limitation amendment, to more specialized legislation such as restrictions on American military participation in United Nations missions.
Gingrich was a major leader in the Republican victory in the 1994 congressional election. In 1995, Time named him "Man of the Year" for "his role in ending the four-decades-long Democratic majority in the House".
Speaker of the House (1995 – 1999)
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As House Speaker, Gingrich oversaw passage by the House of welfare reform and a capital gains tax cut in 1997. He played a key role in several government shutdowns, and impeached President Bill Clinton. The poor showing by Republicans in the 1998 congressional elections, a reprimand from the House for Gingrich's ethics violation, and pressure from Republican colleagues resulted in Gingrich's resignation from the speakership on November 6, 1998. He resigned altogether from the House on January 3, 1999.
Post-speakership
Since leaving the House, Gingrich has remained active in public policy debates and worked as a political consultant. He founded and chaired several policy think tanks, including American Solutions for Winning the Future and the Center for Health Transformation. Gingrich ran for the Republican nomination for president in the 2012 presidential election, and was considered a potential frontrunner at several points in the race. Despite a late victory in the South Carolina primary, Gingrich was ultimately unable to win enough primaries to sustain a viable candidacy. He withdrew from the race in May 2012, and endorsed eventual nominee Mitt Romney.
As of August 2022, Gingrich was advising Kevin McCarthy and House Republicans for the 2022 midterm elections, according to journalist Dana Milbank.
Political positions
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Gingrich favors a strong immigration border policy and a guest worker program. In terms of energy policy, he has argued in favor of flex-fuel mandates for cars sold in the U.S. and promoted the use of ethanol generally.
Personal life
Gingrich has been married three times. In 1962, he wed Jacqueline May "Jackie" Battley (February 21, 1936 – August 7, 2013), his former high school geometry teacher, when he was 19 years old and she was 26. They had two daughters: Kathy, who is president of Gingrich Communications, and Jackie Sue, who is an author, conservative columnist and political commentator.
In the spring of 1980, Gingrich filed for divorce from Jackie after beginning an affair with Marianne Ginther. Jackie later said in 1984 that the divorce was a "complete surprise" to her. Jackie, a deacon and volunteer in the First Baptist Church of Carrollton, Georgia, died in 2013 in Atlanta at the age of 77.
In 1981, six months after his divorce from Jackie was final, Gingrich wed Marianne Ginther. Marianne helped control their finances to get them out of debt. She did not, however, want to have the public life of a politician's wife. Gingrich's daughter Kathy described the marriage as "difficult".
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In 1993, while still married to Marianne, Gingrich began an affair with House of Representatives staffer Callista Bisek, more than two decades his junior. Gingrich filed for divorce from Marianne in 1999, a few months after she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. The marriage produced no children.
In August 2000, Gingrich married Callista Bisek four months after his divorce from Marianne was finalized. He and Callista live in McLean, Virginia.
Other interests
Gingrich has expressed a deep interest in animals. Gingrich's first engagement in civic affairs was speaking to the city council in his native Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, as to why the city should establish its own zoo. He authored the introduction to America's Best Zoos and claims to have visited more than 100.
Space exploration has been an additional interest of Gingrich since a fascination with the United States/Soviet Union Space Race started in his teenage years. Gingrich wants the U.S. to pursue new achievements in space, including sustaining civilizations beyond Earth, but advocates relying more on the private sector and less on the publicly funded NASA to drive progress. Since 2010, he has served on the National Space Society Board of Governors.
Books and film
Nonfiction
- The Government's Role in Solving Societal Problems, Associated Faculty Press, January 1982, ISBN: 978-0-86733-026-7
- Window of Opportunity, Tom Doherty Associates, December 1985, ISBN: 978-0-312-93923-6
- Contract with America (co-editor). Times Books, December 1994, ISBN: 978-0-8129-2586-9
- Restoring the Dream, Times Books, May 1995, ISBN: 978-0-8129-2666-8
- Quotations from Speaker Newt. Workman Publishing Company, July 1995, ISBN: 978-0-7611-0092-8
- To Renew America, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, July 1996, ISBN: 978-0-06-109539-9
- Lessons Learned The Hard Way. HarperCollins, May 1998, ISBN: 978-0-06-019106-1
- Saving Lives and Saving Money, Alexis de Tocqueville Institution, April 2003, ISBN: 978-0-9705485-4-2
- Winning the Future, Regnery Publishing, January 2005, ISBN: 978-0-89526-042-0
- Rediscovering God in America: Reflections on the Role of Faith in Our Nation's History and Future, Integrity Publishers, October 2006, ISBN: 978-1-59145-482-3
- The Art of Transformation, with Nancy Desmond. CHT Press, November 2006, ISBN: 978-1-933966-00-7
- A Contract with the Earth, with Terry L. Maple. Johns Hopkins University Press, October 2007, ISBN: 978-0-8018-8780-2
- Real Change: From the World That Fails to the World That Works, Regnery Publishing, January 2008. ISBN: 978-1-59698-053-2
- Drill Here, Drill Now, Pay Less: A Handbook for Slashing Gas Prices and Solving Our Energy Crisis, with Vince Haley. Regnery Publishing, September 2008, ISBN: 978-1-59698-576-6
- 5 Principles for a Successful Life: From Our Family to Yours, with Jackie Gingrich Cushman, Crown Publishing Group, May 2009, ISBN: 978-0-307-46232-9
- To Save America: Stopping Obama's Secular-Socialist Machine, with Joe DeSantis, Regnery Publishing, May 2010, ISBN: 978-1-59698-596-4
- Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, Dunham Books, January 2011, ISBN: 978-1-45074-672-4
- A Nation Like No Other: Why American Exceptionalism Matters, Regnery Publishing, June 2011, ISBN: 978-1-59698-271-0
- Breakout: Pioneers of the Future, Prison Guards of the Past, and the Epic Battle That Will Decide America's Fate, Regnery Publishing, November 2013, ISBN: 978-1-62157-021-9
- Understanding Trump, Center Street, June 2017, ISBN: 978-1-4789-2308-4
- Trump's America: The Truth about Our Nation's Great Comeback, Center Street, June 2018, ISBN: 978-1-5460-7706-0
- Trump vs China: America's Greatest Challenge, Center Street, October 2019, ISBN: 978-1-5460-8507-2
- Trump and the American Future: Solving the Great Problems of Our Time, Center Street, June 2020, ISBN: 978-1-5460-8504-1
- Beyond Biden: Rebuilding the America We Love, Center Street, November 2021, ISBN: 978-1-5460-0025-9
- Defeating Big Government Socialism, Center Street, July 2022, ISBN: 978-1-5460-0322-9
- March to the Majority: The Real Story of the Republican Revolution, Center Street, June 2023, ISBN: 978-1-5460-0484-4
Fiction
Gingrich co-wrote the following alternate history novels and series of novels with William R. Forstchen.
- 1945, Baen Books, August 1995; ISBN: 978-0-671-87739-2
- Civil War series
- Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War, Thomas Dunne Books, June 2003 ISBN: 978-0-312-30935-0
- Grant Comes East, Thomas Dunne Books, June 2004 ISBN: 978-0-312-30937-4
- Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant: The Final Victory, Thomas Dunne Books, June 2005 ISBN: 978-0-312-34298-2
- The Battle of the Crater: A Novel, Thomas Dunne Books, November 2011 ISBN: 978-0-312-60710-4
- Pacific War series
- Revolutionary War series
- To Try Men's Souls: A Novel of George Washington and the Fight for American Freedom, Thomas Dunne Books, October 2009, ISBN: 978-0-312-59106-9
- Valley Forge: George Washington and the Crucible of Victory, Thomas Dunne Books, November 2010, ISBN: 978-0-312-59107-6
- Victory at Yorktown, Thomas Dunne Books, November 2012, ISBN: 978-0-312-60707-4
- Brooke Grant series
- Duplicity: A Novel, Center Street Press, October 13, 2015, co-author Pete Earley, ISBN: 978-1455530427
- Treason: A Novel, Center Street Press, October 11, 2016, co-author Pete Earley, ISBN: 978-1455530441
- Vengeance: A Novel, Center Street Press, October 10, 2017, co-author Pete Earley, ISBN: 978-1478923046
- Mayberry and Garrett series
Films
- Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, Gingrich Productions, 2009
- Nine Days That Changed the World, Gingrich Productions, 2010
See also
In Spanish: Newt Gingrich para niños
- List of federal political scandals in the United States
- List of United States representatives expelled, censured, or reprimanded
