Wissenswertes

Was a Democratic nominee for U.S. President in 1972, but was defeated in a landslide when Richard Nixon was re-elected, winning in every state except Massachusetts. Nixon resigned, facing impeachment, less than two years later.

Democrat US senator from South Dakota, 3 January 1963-3 January 1981.

Children: Ann, Susan, Mary, Teresa, Steven.

Attended graduate school at Northwestern University.

In December 1994, his daughter Teresa died of exposure while intoxicated. He later founded a non-profit alcohol research organization in her name, and wrote book in which he discussed Teresa's longtime battle with alcoholism.

As a critic against the Vietnam War, and an advocate of withdrawing the U.S. military from Vietnam, he ran his presidential campaign with the slogan "Come Home America".

Described himself as "1,000 percent" for Thomas Eagleton, when he chose him as his running mate for the presidential race. However, when it was revealed that Eagleton had been hospitalized in the past for depression, and had undergone electroshock therapy, he was replaced with Sargent Shriver.

During an appearance on Larry King Live in January 2007, he publicly revealed that he voted for President Gerald Ford in the 1976 presidential election, despite Ford's status as a Republican. He said it was because he felt comfortable with Ford and did not know Jimmy Carter very well. However, he admittedly voted for Carter in 1980 against Ronald Reagan, although Carter ultimately lost his re-election bid.

In 1984, twelve years after being nominated for president, he sought the Democratic presidential nomination again, but lost to Walter Mondale. He considered running for president again in 1992, but decided against it.

Democrat US Congressional representative from South Dakota, 3 January 1957-3 January 1961.

Following his service as a B-24 Liberator bomber pilot in WWII and receiving a PhD in history from Northwestern University, McGovern, whose parents were Republican and who had registered as an Independent, volunteered for the 1948 presidential campaign of Henry Wallace of the Progressive Party. Wallace, who served as an extremely popular vice president under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, eventually left the Democratic Party stemming from an anti-democratic ouster orchestrated by Edwin Pauley and conservative elements within the Party, at the 1944 Democratic National Convention (DNC), where he was replaced by Harry S. Truman as Roosevelt's health was failing (thus leading Truman to the presidency rather than Wallace). In 1952, McGovern became a Democrat and a supporter of Adlai Stevenson. McGovern would later face intrigue against him within the Democratic Party during his 1972 presidential bid against President Richard Nixon.