6/19/2005:
Senator Quentin Burdick was born in Munich, N.D. on this date in 1908. He was the son of Congressman Usher Burdick, who for many years served in the House of Representatives at both the state and national level.
The younger Burdick earned his law degree from the U of M, was elected to US House in 1959, and – with his Republican father’s blessing – ran as a Democrat in 1960, winning the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Wild Bill Langer. When Burdick died 32-years later, he was 2nd only to Strom Thurmond as the oldest senator, and he had more seniority than only two other senators. Burdick gained a reputation as the “King of Pork” for his ability to bring money into ND, but upon his death in 1992, Senator Bob Dole declared him “a tireless fighter for rural America.”
Sources: Bismarck Tribune, September 9, 1992; N.D. Blue Book, 1981 and 1995, N.D. Legislative Authority under Secretary of State
Dakota Datebook written by Merry Helm