Hamilton Fish IV


Hamilton Fish IV or Hamilton Fish Jr. was a Republican politician best known as a member of the U.S. Congressional Delegation from New York. Fish was a member of the prominent Fish political family.

Early life

Fish was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Grace Chapin and Hamilton Fish III. His grandfathers were Hamilton Fish II and Alfred C. Chapin, who were both lawyers and politicians. He was a great-grandson of Hamilton Fish, and a descendant of Lewis Morris and John Kean.
He attended the prestigious private Kent School, and graduated from Harvard University in 1949. He received an LL.B. from New York University School of Law in 1957. He also attended Harvard's Graduate School of Public Administration. While in college, Fish was a member of the United States Naval Reserve.

Career

From 1951 to 1953, Fish served with the United States Foreign Service and was posted as vice consul to Ireland. He practiced law privately before his election to the House, and in 1961, Fish served as a lawyer for the New York State Assembly's Judiciary Committee.

U.S. Congress

Fish was a candidate for the 90th Congress in 1966. While he won the Republican primary, he was defeated in the general election by Democrat Joseph Y. Resnick. In the 1968 Republican primary, he defeated G. Gordon Liddy, and went on to win in the general election that year. He served in the 91st United States Congress, and was re-elected to the 12 succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1969 to January 3, 1995.
As a member of the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary in 1974, he voted in favor of the first two of the three Articles of Impeachment of President Richard Nixon.

Personal life

In 1951, Fish was married to Julia MacKenzie, who was born in Montreal, Quebec, and was the daughter of Ellice MacKenzie. Together, they were the parents of:
After Julia's death in a car accident in 1969, he married Billy Laster Cline, the daughter of Mayne E. Laster, a cattle rancher, and Mildred Laster, in 1971. They remained married until her death in 1985. In 1988, he married Mary Ann Tinklepaugh, a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Reagan and Bush administrations.
Fish died at his home in Washington, D.C. on July 23, 1996.