Newton Steers

Newton Steers
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 8th district
In office
3 January 1977 – 3 January 1979
Preceded by Gilbert Gude
Succeeded by Michael Barnes
Member of the Maryland Senate
In office
1971-1977
Personal details
Born Newton Ivan Steers, Jr.
(1917-01-13)January 13, 1917
Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Died February 11, 1993(1993-02-11) (aged 76)
Bethesda, Maryland
Political party Republican
Spouse(s) Nina Gore Auchincloss (m. 1957 - d. 1974)
Inge Gabriele Wirsich Irwin (m. 1978 - 1993, his death)
Children Hugh Auchincloss Steers
Ivan Steers
Burr Steers
Kristof Andreas Irwin (stepson)
Residence Bethesda, Maryland
Alma mater Yale University
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Occupation Attorney, Politician
Military service
Allegiance United States
Service/branch United States Army Air Corps
Years of service 1941–1946
Battles/wars World War II

Newton Ivan Steers, Jr. (January 13, 1917 – February 11, 1993), a Republican, was a U.S. Congressman who represented Maryland's 8th congressional district from January 3, 1977 to January 3, 1979.[1]

Early life

Newton Ivan Steers, Jr. was born on January 13, 1917 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey to Newton Steers Sr. and Claire L. Steers. His father was president of the du Pont Film Manufacturing Corporation for seventeen years.[2] Together, Steers Sr. and Claire had five children:[2]

Steers attended the White Plains, New York, public schools. He graduated from the Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut, in 1935, and received a B.A. from Yale University in 1939. He obtained a Certificate of Advanced Meteorology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1943, and his J.D. degree from the Yale Law School in 1948.[5]

Career

Steers was admitted to the New York bar (1958), and later to the District of Columbia bar (1967), and worked with the DuPont company from 1939 to 1941. During World War II, he served in United States Army Air Corps from 1941 to 1946.[2] After the war, he worked with GAF Corp. from 1948 to 1951, and the United States Atomic Energy Commission from 1951 to 1953. He also became president of several investment companies in New York from 1953 through 1965.[1] Steers was said to have made his fortune during the 1950s through investing in mutual funds, forming the Atomic Development Mutual Fund in 1953 with a group of friends. The fund specialized in "securities of companies participating in activities resulting from the natural sciences."[6]

In 1962, Steers entered politics and was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1962 to the 88th Congress. He served as Maryland Republican State chairman from 1964 to 1966. In 1967, Gov. Spiro T. Agnew appointed Steers the Maryland State insurance commissioner, which remained until 1970. In 1970, Steers became Maryland Assistant Secretary of Licensing and Regulation and a member of the Maryland State Senate, serving from 1971 to 1977. He served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1964 and 1984.[1]

In 1976, Steers was elected as a Republican to the 95th Congress over Democrat Lanny Davis and independent Robin Ficker, serving from January 3, 1977, until January 3, 1979. He ran for reelection in 1978 to the 96th Congress and lost to Democrat Michael D. Barnes, and unsuccessfully challenged Barnes in 1980. He was also an unsuccessful candidate for election as Lieutenant Governor of Maryland in 1982, losing to Democrat J. Joseph Curran, Jr. Steers was a resident of Bethesda, Maryland, until his death there in 1993.[1]

Personal life

In 1957, Steers married Nina Gore Auchincloss (born 1935), the daughter of Hugh D. Auchincloss (1897-1976) and Nina S. Gore (1903–1978). Nina S. Gore had previously been married to Eugene Vidal, with whom she had one child, the writer Gore Vidal, Nina Gore Auchincloss' half-brother. Hugh D. Auchincloss later married Janet Lee Bouvier, the mother of Jacqueline Kennedy, who became a stepsister to Nina Gore Auchincloss. Kennedy was matron of honor at the wedding and then-Sen. John F. Kennedy was one of the groomsmen.[6] Together, Steers and Nina Gore Auchincloss had three children:[1]

Steers and Auchincloss were divorced in 1974.[7] In 1978, he married Inge Gabriele Wirsich Irwin, who he remained married to until his death. Inge had a son, Kristof Andreas Irwin, from a previous marriage who became Steers' stepson. Steers died on February 11, 1993 at his home in Bethesda, Maryland after a long battle with cancer.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Nawrozki, Joe (February 13, 1993). "Newton Steers Jr., former congressman, at 76". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 New York Times Staff (May 17, 1944). "N. STEERS, HEDED DU PONT FILM UNIT". The New York Times. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  3. 1 2 Scarsdale Inquirer Staff (July 18, 1930). "Mrs. Paul Van Winkle". Scarsdale Inquirer. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  4. ↑ The Berkshire Eagle Staff (December 26, 1946). "Miss Steers Married to L. H. Brague Jr.". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Steers, Jr., Newton Ivan". ourcampaigns.com. OurCampaigns. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  6. 1 2 Barnes, Bart (February 12, 1993). "REPUBLICAN NEWTON I. STEERS JR. DIES". The Washington Post. Retrieved 4 March 2016.
  7. ↑ "Mrs. Steers Wed to Michael Straight". The New York Times. May 2, 1974. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Gilbert Gude		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 8th congressional district
1977–1979 		Succeeded by
Michael D. Barnes
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