Paul Sarbanes facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Sarbanes
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| United States Senator from Maryland |
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| In office January 3, 1977 – January 3, 2007 |
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| Preceded by | John Glenn Beall Jr. |
| Succeeded by | Ben Cardin |
| Chair of the Senate Banking Committee | |
| In office June 6, 2001 – January 3, 2003 |
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| Preceded by | Phil Gramm |
| Succeeded by | Richard Shelby |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Maryland |
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| In office January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1977 |
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| Preceded by | George Hyde Fallon |
| Succeeded by | Barbara Mikulski |
| Constituency | 4th district (1971–1973) 3rd district (1973–1977) |
| Member of the Maryland House of Delegates from the 2nd district |
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| In office January 18, 1967 – January 13, 1971 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Paul Spyros Sarbanes
February 3, 1933 Salisbury, Maryland, U.S. |
| Died | December 6, 2020 (aged 87) Baltimore, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Christine Dunbar |
| Children | 3, including John |
| Education | Princeton University (BA) Balliol College, Oxford (BA) Harvard University (LLB) |
| Signature |  |
Paul Spyros Sarbanes (February 3, 1933 – December 6, 2020) was an American politician and lawyer. He was a member of the Democratic Party from Maryland. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1971 to 1977. Later, he became a U.S. Senator from 1977 to 2007.
Sarbanes was the longest-serving senator in Maryland's history for a long time. He was also the first Greek American to become a U.S. Senator. He was known for being quiet and working hard behind the scenes. One of his most famous achievements was helping to create the Sarbanes–Oxley Act in 2002. This law helped make sure companies were honest with their money.
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Early Life and Education
Paul Sarbanes was born in Salisbury, Maryland, on the Eastern Shore. His parents, Matina and Spyros Sarbanes, were immigrants from Greece. They owned a restaurant in Salisbury.
Paul went to Wicomico High School in Salisbury. After high school, he attended Princeton University. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1954. At Princeton, he was a top student and received the Moses Taylor Pyne Honor Prize. This was Princeton's highest award for undergraduate students.
He then received a Rhodes Scholarship. This allowed him to study at Balliol College, Oxford in England. He graduated with high honors in 1957. After that, Sarbanes returned to the U.S. and studied law at Harvard Law School. He finished law school in 1960. He then worked for a federal judge before starting his own law practice in Baltimore.
Political Career
Paul Sarbanes had a long and important career in politics. He served at both the state and national levels.
Starting in State Politics
In 1966, Sarbanes was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates. This is part of Maryland's state legislature. He represented Baltimore. During his four years there, he worked on important committees.
Serving in the U.S. House of Representatives
In 1970, Sarbanes was elected to the United States House of Representatives. This is one of the two parts of the U.S. Congress. He represented Maryland's 4th district, and later the 3rd district.
While in the House, he was part of the Judiciary Committee. This committee deals with laws and the justice system. A big moment in his career was when he helped with the impeachment process against Richard Nixon. On July 26, 1974, he introduced the first formal charges against President Richard Nixon for trying to block justice.
Becoming a U.S. Senator
Sarbanes was elected to the United States Senate in 1976. He won against the Republican senator at the time. He was re-elected four more times, serving a total of 30 years in the Senate. He always won with a large number of votes.
In 2002, Senator Sarbanes was a key person behind the Sarbanes–Oxley Act. This law was created to stop big accounting scandals. It made rules for how companies handle their money and report it. This helped protect investors and make sure businesses were honest.
Sarbanes served on several important Senate committees:
- Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs
- Foreign Relations
- Budget
- Joint Economic
He was known for being careful with government spending. In 2005, Sarbanes announced he would not run for re-election. He retired from the Senate in 2007.
Personal Life and Legacy
In 1960, Paul Sarbanes married Christine Dunbar. They had three children: John Sarbanes, Michael Anthony Sarbanes, and Janet Matina Sarbanes. They also had seven grandchildren. Christine Sarbanes passed away in 2009.
His son, John Sarbanes, followed in his father's footsteps. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2006. This was the same district Paul Sarbanes had represented earlier.
Paul Sarbanes died at his home in Baltimore on December 6, 2020, at age 87. In 2021, the public library in downtown Salisbury was renamed after him. This honored his many years of public service.
See also
In Spanish: Paul Sarbanes para niños
