Hamilton Fish IV

Hamilton Fish IV or Hamilton Fish Jr. (June 3, 1926 – July 23, 1996) was an American Republican politician who represented parts of New York's Hudson Valley region in the United States House of Representatives for thirteen terms from 1969 to 1995. Fish was a member of the prominent Fish political family; his grandfather (Hamilton Fish II) and father (Hamilton Fish III), both also named Hamilton, represented the region from 1909 to 1911 and 1920 to 1945, respectively.

Early life
Fish was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Grace Chapin and Hamilton Fish III (1888–1991). His grandfathers were Hamilton Fish II (1849–1936) and Alfred C. Chapin, who were both lawyers and politicians. He was a great-grandson of Hamilton Fish (1808–1893), and a descendant of Lewis Morris and John Kean.

He graduated from Kent School in 1944 and Harvard College in 1949. He received an LL.B. from New York University School of Law in 1957. He also attended Harvard Kennedy School. While in college, Fish was a member of the United States Naval Reserve from 1944 to 1946.

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 (for obstruction of justice and abuse of power) of President Richard Nixon during the impeachment process against Nixon.

Fish twice served as a House impeachment manager, being among those who successfully prosecuted the cases against Judges Harry E. Claiborne and Alcee Hastings in their impeachment trials.

Personal life
In 1951, Fish was married to Julia MacKenzie (1927–1969), who was born in Montreal, Quebec, and was the daughter of Ellice MacKenzie. Together, they were the parents of:


 * Hamilton Fish V (born 1952), who ran for Congress in 1988 and 1994 as a Democrat without success. He is married to Sandra Harper.
 * Julia Alexandria "Alexa" Fish (born 1953), who married Thomas Ward, a descendant of Samuel Gray Ward.
 * Nicholas Stuyvesant Fish (1958–2020), also a Democrat who was chairman of Manhattan Community Board 5. Member of the Portland City Council 2008–2020.
 * Peter Livingston Fish (born 1959)

After Julia's death in a car accident in 1969, he married Billy Laster Cline (1924–1985), the daughter of Mayne E. Laster (1903–1972), a cattle rancher, and Mildred (née Greenwood) Laster (1912–1987), in 1971. They remained married until her death in 1985. In 1988, he married Mary Ann Tinklepaugh (b. 1930), a Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce in the Reagan and Bush administrations.

A heavy smoker, Fish retired from Congress in 1994, after being diagnosed with lung cancer and prostate cancer. He died from cancer at his home in Washington, D.C., on July 23, 1996, at the age of 70.