# Bob Shamansky
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{{short description|American politician}}
{{Lead too short|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2022}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = Bob Shamansky 97th Congress 1981.jpg
| state = [Ohio](/source/Ohio)
| district = [12th](/source/Ohio's_12th_congressional_district)
| term_start = January 3, 1981
| term_end = January 3, 1983
| preceded = [Samuel L. Devine](/source/Samuel_L._Devine)
| succeeded = [John Kasich](/source/John_Kasich)
| party = [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States))
| birth_name = Robert Norton Shamansky
| birth_date = {{birth date|1927|4|18}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2011|8|11|1927|4|18}}
| birth_place = [Columbus, Ohio](/source/Columbus%2C_Ohio), U.S.
| death_place = Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
| resting_place = New Agudas Achim Cemetery
Columbus, Ohio, U.S.
| alma_mater = [Ohio State University](/source/Ohio_State_University)
[Harvard Law School](/source/Harvard_Law_School)
| allegiance = [United States](/source/United_States)
| branch = [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army)
| service_years = 1950–1952
| unit = [Counterintelligence Corps](/source/Counterintelligence_Corps_(United_States_Army))
}}
'''Robert Norton Shamansky''' (April 18, 1927 – August 11, 2011) was an American [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) politician and attorney from the state of [Ohio](/source/Ohio). He served in the [U.S. House of Representatives](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives) for a single term from 1981 until 1983. In 2018, the ''[Jewish Telegraphic Agency](/source/Jewish_Telegraphic_Agency)'' wrote that "Shamansky's life was marked by hardship, Jewish pride and [tilting at windmills](/source/Tilting_at_Windmills)".[{{Cite web|url=https://www.jta.org/2018/08/08/politics/remembering-bob-shamansky-last-democrat-win-ohios-12th-district|title=Remembering Bob Shamansky, the last Democrat to win Ohio's 12th District|date=August 8, 2018|website=Jewish Telegraphic Agency|language=en-US|last = Kampeas|first = Ron|access-date=October 18, 2019}}]
==Early life==
Shamansky was born in 1927 in [Columbus](/source/Columbus%2C_Ohio), the son of Sarah (Greenberg) and Harry Solomon Shamansky.[{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3iJ3AAAAMAAJ&q=%22SHAMANSKY,+ROBERT+NORTON+(1927-):%22|title=The Congressional Minyan: The Jews of Capitol Hill|isbn=9780881256598|last1=Stone|first1=Kurt F.|year=2000}}] He attended [Bexley High School](/source/Bexley_High_School). He was a 1947 graduate of [Ohio State University](/source/Ohio_State_University) and a 1950 graduate of [Harvard Law School](/source/Harvard_Law_School). He was subsequently admitted to the [bar](/source/Bar_(law)) in 1950. He was also a [Special Agent](/source/Special_Agent) in the [United States Army](/source/United_States_Army)'s [Counter Intelligence Corps](/source/Counterintelligence_Corps_(United_States_Army)) from 1950 until 1952. He joined the Army as a private and was initially stationed in Georgia, followed by duty at [Fort George G. Meade](/source/Fort_George_G._Meade), Maryland.
==Political career==
In [1966](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections%2C_1966), Shamansky ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. However, he lost to [Republican](/source/United_States_Republican_Party) incumbent [Samuel L. Devine](/source/Samuel_L._Devine).
=== Congress ===
Fourteen years later, in [1980](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections%2C_1980), Shamansky challenged Devine again. This time, he was successful in unseating the long-time incumbent Devine, becoming the first Democrat to represent the district since 1939. He was also the first Democrat to represent a significant portion of the state capital, Columbus, since 1967.
As a member of the [97th Congress](/source/97th_United_States_Congress), Shamansky served on the [House Foreign Affairs Committee](/source/United_States_House_Committee_on_Foreign_Affairs), and as a member of the [Science and Technology Committee](/source/United_States_House_Committee_on_Science_and_Technology).
=== Defeat ===
In [1982](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections%2C_1982), after [reapportionment](/source/Apportionment_(politics)), Shamansky's district absorbed a large chunk of the more Republican-leaning 17th District. He was defeated in his bid for re-election by future [Governor](/source/Governor_of_Ohio) [John Kasich](/source/John_Kasich).
In [2006](/source/United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections%2C_2006), Shamansky ran for his old congressional seat. However, the 12th had been significantly redrawn since he'd last served in Congress, and he lost to Kasich's successor, [Pat Tiberi](/source/Pat_Tiberi), by 14 points.
==Death==
On August 11, 2011, Shamansky died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Columbus at the age of 84. He had been treated for depression at a psychiatric hospital shortly before his death.[{{cite news |url=https://www.columbusmonthly.com/article/20140206/NEWS/302069294 |title=The mysterious death of Bob Shamansky |work=Columbus Monthly |date=October 1, 2011 |accessdate=February 11, 2020 }}]
==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
*[List of Jewish members of the United States Congress](/source/List_of_Jewish_members_of_the_United_States_Congress)
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
{{CongBio|S000282}}
*{{find a Grave|74976424}}
*{{C-SPAN|94578}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061025212107/http://www.shamanskyforcongress.com/cms/ 2006 official campaign website (archived)]
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|us-hs}}
{{US House succession box
| state=Ohio
| district=12
| before=[Samuel L. Devine](/source/Samuel_L._Devine)
| years=1981–1983
| after=[John Kasich](/source/John_Kasich)
}}
{{s-end}}
{{OhioRepresentatives12}}
{{USCongRep-start|congresses= 97th [United States Congress](/source/United_States_Congress)es |state=[Ohio](/source/Ohio's_congressional_delegations)}}
{{USCongRep/OH/97}}
{{USCongRep-end}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shamansky, Bob}}
Category:1927 births
Category:2011 deaths
Category:2011 suicides
Category:20th-century American lawyers
Category:American politicians who died by suicide
Category:Bexley High School alumni
Category:Candidates in the 2006 United States elections
Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Ohio
Category:Harvard Law School alumni
Category:Jewish United States representatives
Category:John Kasich
Category:Lawyers from Columbus, Ohio
Category:Ohio lawyers
Category:Ohio State University alumni
Category:People from Bexley, Ohio
Category:Politicians from Columbus, Ohio
Category:Suicides by firearm in Ohio
Category:United States Army soldiers
Category:20th-century United States representatives
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bob Shamansky](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Shamansky) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Shamansky?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.