John Bayard Anderson
United States Congressman
biography
John B. Anderson, born on February 15, 1922 in Rockford Illinois, was
educated at University of Illinois and Harvard Law School. Anderson
entered the foreign service in 1952 and state politics in 1956. He
represented Illinois as a Republican in the U. S. House of
Representatives from 1961 to 1981 and ran unsuccessfully for U. S.
president in 1980.
He served as chairman of the House Republican Conference from 1969 until
1979, when he declared his presidential candidacy and withdrew from
reelection to the House. However, Anderson campaigned as an
independent, after loosing the Republican primary to Reagan, winning
about 7 percent of the popular vote.
He is believed to have contributed to Reagan's landslide victory over
Democratic incumbent Jimmy Carter by pulling many liberal voters away
from the Democratic party. His published writings include Between Two
Worlds: A Congressman's Choice (1970) and Vision and Betrayal in
America (1975).