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Former senator, VP candidate Thomas Eagleton dies at 77
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (AP) -- Former U.S. Sen. Thomas Eagleton, who resigned
as a vice presidential nominee in 1972 after it was revealed he had
been hospitalized for depression, died Sunday, said a spokeswoman for
Sen. Claire McCaskill.
The cause of death was not disclosed. McCaskill spokeswoman Adrianne
Marsh said the family was expected to issue a statement later Sunday.
"Today Missouri has a hole in its heart," McCaskill said in a
statement. "Tom Eagleton managed to be a statesman, an intellectual
and a man of the people all at the same time."
Eagleton, 77, had suffered from a variety of illnesses and ailments
in recent years.
He served in the Senate representing Missouri from December 1968
through January 1987.
He was George McGovern's vice presidential nominee in 1972, but
dropped out after it was revealed that he had been hospitalized for
psychiatric treatment and had twice undergone electroshock therapy
for depression.
Eagleton was born in St. Louis in 1929, the son of noted civil trial
attorney Mark Eagleton, who once ran unsuccessfully for mayor and
encouraged his son's interest in politics.
Thomas Eagleton was elected circuit attorney at age 26 in 1956, the
youngest man ever elected to the position.
He was elected Missouri attorney general in 1960 and lieutenant
governor in 1964 before winning election to the U.S. Senate.
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