Senator Edward Lewis Bartlett

Edward Lewis Bartlett served as a Senator from Alaska in the United States Congress from 1945 to 1968. A member of the Democratic Party, Edward Lewis Bartlett contributed to the legislative process during 10 terms in office.

Edward Lewis Bartlett’s service in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history. As a member of the Senate, Edward Lewis Bartlett participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of constituents.

Edward Lewis “Bob” Bartlett (April 20, 1904 – December 11, 1968), was an American politician and a member of the Democratic Party. He served as a U.S. Senator. A key fighter for Alaska statehood, Bartlett served as the Secretary of Alaska Territory from 1939 to 1945, as Alaska’s delegate in Congress from 1945 to 1959, and as a U.S. senator from 1959 until his death in 1968. He was opposed to U.S. involvement in Vietnam, along with his fellow Senator Ernest Gruening, and also worked to warn people about the dangers of radiation. Many acts bear his name, including a major law known as the Bartlett Act, mandating handicap access in all federally funded buildings. In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt appointed him Secretary of the Alaska Territory, serving under Governors John Weir Troy and Ernest Gruening. In 1945, following the retirement of Anthony Dimond, Bartlett was elected as the delegate from Alaska to the 79th and the six succeeding Congresses, with the backing of Dimond. It was in this role that his greatest work on Alaskan statehood was completed, such as the introduction of the Alaska Statehood Act to the House, where he was key in shepherding its passage. Bartlett labored constantly for statehood, being a member of the Alaska Statehood Committee. Upon Alaska’s admission to the Union in 1959, he became the senior inaugural U.S. senator from Alaska and served until his death in 1968.