Senator Jocelyn Birch Burdick

Jocelyn Louise Burdick (née Birch; February 6, 1922 – December 26, 2019) was an American politician from North Dakota who briefly served as a member of the United States Senate in 1992. A member of the North Dakota Democratic–Nonpartisan League Party and the national Democratic Party, she was the first woman from North Dakota to serve in either house of the U.S. Congress and the first woman from the state to hold a seat in the United States Senate. Her service in Congress, though short, occurred during a significant period in American history, and she participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of her constituents during one term in office. At the age of 97, she was the oldest living former U.S. Senator for the last eight months of her life.

Burdick was born in Fargo, North Dakota, on February 6, 1922, the daughter of Magdalena Towers (Carpenter) and Albert Birch. She came from a family with a notable tradition of political and social activism. Her great-grandmother was Matilda Joslyn Gage, a prominent suffragist and abolitionist, and she was the great-niece, by marriage, of L. Frank Baum, the author of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” who was married to her great-aunt, activist Maud Gage Baum. Raised in this environment, Burdick developed an early awareness of civic engagement and public affairs that would later inform her own involvement in politics and public service.

Burdick pursued higher education at Principia College and later attended Northwestern University. After completing her studies at Northwestern, she returned to her hometown of Fargo, where she worked as a radio announcer at KVOX radio. Her work in broadcasting helped develop her public speaking skills and her comfort with addressing audiences, abilities that would later prove useful when she appeared at public events and political gatherings. During this period, she was originally affiliated with the Republican Party.

In her personal life, Burdick married Kenneth Peterson, with whom she had two children, a daughter, Leslie, and a son, Birch. Peterson died in 1958 of a heart attack, leaving her a widow with two young children. Two years later, in 1960, she married Quentin N. Burdick, a Democratic–Nonpartisan League politician from North Dakota who would go on to serve in the U.S. Senate. Quentin Burdick was himself a widower with four children, and together they had another son, Gage. Their family life was marked by both public prominence and personal tragedy; in 1978, their son Gage died in an accident involving an electric belt sander. A devout Christian Scientist, Jocelyn Burdick’s religious faith was an important element of her private life and helped sustain her through these losses.

Prior to her second marriage, Burdick had been a Republican, but after marrying Quentin Burdick she changed her party affiliation to the Democratic–Nonpartisan League, emphasizing that she did so of her own volition. Throughout her husband’s political career, she remained engaged in civics and public affairs. She would occasionally act as a stand-in for him at speeches and public appearances, though she was careful not to interpret or elaborate on his specific policies or positions. Beyond her role as a political spouse, she developed her own record of civic involvement. She was part of the official United States delegation to Russia in 1978, served as a trustee of the Lake Agassiz Arts Council, and helped to found Democratic Women Plus in the early 1980s, an organization aimed at strengthening the role of women in the Democratic Party. In 1989, she recorded public service announcements against drunk driving and drug use, reflecting her interest in public health and safety issues.

Jocelyn Birch Burdick’s direct congressional service began following the death of her husband, Senator Quentin N. Burdick, in September 1992. Upon his death, North Dakota Governor George Sinner appointed her to fill the resulting vacancy in the United States Senate until a special election could be held. Although initially reluctant to accept the appointment, she agreed to serve in order to cast some votes she believed her husband would have supported and to ensure continuity of representation for North Dakota. She served as a Senator from North Dakota in the United States Congress from 1992 to 1992, during a brief but symbolically important tenure. She did not run as a candidate in the special election for the remainder of the term. During her time in the Senate, she supported legislation related to pay equity and women’s rights, contributing to the broader national dialogue on gender equality. Her service concluded when Kent Conrad, elected in the special election, took office in December 1992, at which point she retired from the Senate and returned to Fargo.

In the years following her Senate service, Burdick remained active in North Dakota politics and community affairs while residing in Fargo. She continued to be regarded as a trailblazer for women in public office in the state, having broken the barrier as the first woman from North Dakota to serve in Congress. Her family also remained involved in public service; her son Birch Burdick served as Cass County State’s Attorney between 1998 and 2022, extending the family’s legacy of civic engagement. In April 2019, following the death of former Senator Fritz Hollings, she became the oldest living former United States Senator, a distinction she held for the last eight months of her life.

Jocelyn Louise Burdick died in Fargo, North Dakota, on December 26, 2019, at the age of 97. At the time of her death, she was remembered both for her brief but historic tenure in the United States Senate and for a lifetime of civic involvement rooted in a family tradition of activism and public service.