Nick Begich

Nick Begich
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alaska's At-large district
In office January 3, 1971 – October 16, 1972
Preceded by	Howard Pollock
Succeeded by	Don Young
Member of the Alaska State Senate
In office 1962–1970
Personal details
Born	Nicholas Joseph Begich[1][2] (1932-04-06)April 6, 1932 Eveleth, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	Disappeared October 16, 1972(1972-10-16) (aged 40) Alaska, U.S. Declared dead in absentia (1972-12-29)December 29, 1972
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Pegge Begich
Children	Mark, Nichelle, Stephanie, Tom, Paul, and Nick
Alma mater	St. Cloud State University, University of Minnesota, University of Colorado, University of North Dakota

Nicholas Joseph Begich Sr. (April 6, 1932 – disappeared October 16, 1972) was a Democratic Party member of the US House of Representatives from Alaska. He is presumed to have died in the crash of a light aircraft in Alaska in 1972; his body was never found.

Early life and education

Begich was born and raised in Eveleth, Minnesota. His father, John Begich (né Begić), was born in Podlapača, Udbina, Croatia,^[3] and his mother, Anna (née Martinich), was also of Croatian descent.^[4] He attended Saint Cloud State University (Bachelor of Arts, 1952) and the University of Minnesota (Master of Arts, 1954) before he pursued his doctorate at the University of Colorado and at the University of North Dakota.

Early career

Begich worked as a guidance counselor in the schools of Anchorage, and he was later Director of Student Personnel for the Anchorage school system before becoming Superintendent of Schools at Fort Richardson.^[5][6] In 1962, Begich was elected to the Alaska Senate, where he served for eight years. Begich also taught political science during parts of this period at the University of Alaska at Anchorage.^[7]

Political career

In 1968, Begich ran for Alaska's only House seat and lost to the incumbent Representative, Republican Howard Pollock.^[8]

In 1970, Begich ran again for the seat and was now successful by defeating the Republican banker Frank Murkowski, who later served as a U.S. senator and then as Governor of Alaska. In 1972 for his re-election, Begich was opposed by Republican state senator Don Young.

Posthumously, Begich won the 1972 election, with 56% to Don Young's 44%. However, after Begich was declared dead, a special election was held. Young won the seat and is still in the position.

Disappearance

Begich's memorial at the Congressional Cemetery.

On October 16, 1972, he and House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, of Louisiana, were two of the four men on board a twin engine Cessna 310 when the airplane disappeared during a flight from Anchorage to Juneau. Also on board were Begich's aide, Russell Brown; and the pilot, Don Jonz.^[9] The four were heading to a campaign fundraiser for Begich.

In an enormous search effort, search and rescue aircraft of the United States Coast Guard, Navy, Army, Air Force, Civil Air Patrol and civilians were deployed to look for the four men and the missing Cessna 310. On November 24, 1972, after proceeding for 39 days, the air search was suspended.^[10] Neither the airplane nor any of its four occupants were ever found. All were declared dead on December 29, 1972.

The Cessna was required to carry an emergency locator transmitter (ELT) per Alaska state statutes section 02.35.115, Downed Aircraft Transmitting Devices, which took effect on September 6, 1972,^[11] five weeks before the plane disappeared. The Alaska statute made reference to Federal Aviation Regulation 91.52, published on September 21, 1971, which mandated ELTs in aircraft such as this, but had an effective date of December 30, 1973 for existing aircraft.^[12][13][14]

No ELT signal determined to be from the plane was heard during the search. In its report on the incident, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated that the pilot's portable ELT, permissible in lieu of a fixed ELT on the plane, was found in an aircraft at Fairbanks, Alaska. The report also notes that a witness saw an unidentified object in the pilot's briefcase that resembled, except for color, the portable ELT. The NTSB concluded that neither the pilot nor aircraft had an ELT.^[15]

In November 2015, a Seattle Weekly story detailed the work of journalist of Jonathan Walczak, who since 2012 has investigated the plane crash and subsequent events in an effort to determine the fate of the flight that carried Begich and Boggs.^[16]

Nick Jr., Nick Begich's son, claims his father was assassinated by elements within the US government.^[17]

In 1972, the tallest building in Whittier, Alaska was renamed to Begich Towers in memory of Nick Begich.

Electoral history

Personal life

Nick Begich had six children: Mark, Nichelle, Tom, Stephanie, Paul, and Nick Jr.

His son Mark Begich a member of the Anchorage Borough Assembly, then became Mayor, and was narrowly elected as the junior U.S. Senator from Alaska. The incumbent, Ted Stevens, had been convicted of seven felonies, eight days before the 2008 election, after being caught up in the Alaska political corruption probe. Stevens had been the Republican Party's longest-serving U.S. senator. He too was killed in a small plane crash nearly two years later, though not before the criminal convictions had been overturned. Mark Begich narrowly lost his Senate re-election bid in 2014.

His son Tom won the Democratic primary nomination for a seat in the Alaska Senate in 2016, and faced no opposition in the general election.

Nick's brother Joseph Begich served 18 years in the Minnesota House of Representatives from their hometown of Eveleth.^[19]

Nick Begich's widow, Pegge Begich, ran for the House of Representatives seat in 1984 and 1986, but she was defeated by the incumbent, Don Young. She later retired and lived in Nevada.^[20]

See also

• Lists of people who disappeared
• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)

References

External links

• United States Congress. "Nick Begich (id: B000315)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Nicholas Begich at 100 Years of Alaska's Legislature