{{Short description|American businessman and U.S. senator}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Charles Percy | image = Sen. Charles Percy (3x4).jpg | caption = Official portrait, 1977 | jr/sr = United States Senator | state = [[Illinois]] | term_start = January 3, 1967 | term_end = January 3, 1985 | predecessor = [[Paul Douglas (Illinois politician)|Paul Douglas]] | successor = [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]] | office1 = Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]] | term_start1 = January 3, 1981 | term_end1 = January 3, 1985 | predecessor1 = [[Frank Church]] | successor1 = [[Richard Lugar]] | birth_name = Charles Harting Percy | birth_date = {{birth date|1919|9|27}} | birth_place = [[Pensacola, Florida]], U.S. | death_date = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|2011|9|17|1919|9|27}}}} | death_place = [[Washington, D.C.]], U.S. | resting_place = [[Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)|Oak Hill Cemetery]]<br />Washington, D.C., U.S. | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | spouse = {{ublist | {{marriage|Jeanne Valerie Dickerson|1943|1947|end=died}} | {{marriage|Loraine Diane Guyer|1950}}}} | children = 5, including [[Sharon Percy Rockefeller|Sharon]] | education = [[University of Chicago]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) | allegiance = {{flag|United States|1912}} | branch = {{flag|United States Navy}} | rank = [[File:US Navy O3 infobox.svg|25px]] [[Lieutenant (navy)|Lieutenant]] | service_years = 1943–1945 | battles = [[World War II]] | footnotes = <ref name=WaPo_obit>{{cite news |date=September 18, 2011 |first=Emily |last=Langer |title=Charles H. Percy, 91 - GOP senator's star rose quickly |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref><ref name=Goudie2006/><ref name=WhoWho>{{cite book |chapter=Charles Harting Percy |title=The Complete Marquis Who's Who |publisher=[[Marquis Who's Who]] |year=2010 |access-date=September 18, 2011 |url=http://ic.galegroup.com/ic/bic1/ReferenceDetailsPage/ReferenceDetailsWindow?displayGroupName=Reference&disableHighlighting=false&prodId=BIC2&action=e&windowstate=normal&catId=&documentId=GALE%7CK2013030218&mode=view&userGroupName=fairfax_main&jsid=84719343a58d0cc402b0c2c9f442a308 |id=Gale Document Number: GALE<nowiki>|</nowiki>K2013030218 |via=[[Fairfax County Public Library]]}}{{subscription required}} [[Gale (publisher)|Gale]] Biography In Context.</ref> }}
'''Charles Harting Percy''' (September 27, 1919 – September 17, 2011),<ref name=nyt2011/> also known as '''Chuck Percy''', was an American businessman and politician. He was president of the [[Böwe Bell & Howell|Bell & Howell Corporation]] from 1949 to 1964, and served as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[U.S. senator]] from [[Illinois]] from 1967 until 1985, following a defeat to [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]]. He was mentioned as a Republican presidential hopeful from 1968 through 1988. During his Senate career, Percy concentrated on business and foreign relations.<ref>Stephen Hess and David S. Broder. ''The Republican Establishment: The Present and Future of the G.O.P.'' New York: Harper & Row, 1967.</ref>
==Early life and education== Charles Harting Percy was born in [[Pensacola, Florida|Pensacola]], the seat of [[Escambia County, Florida|Escambia County]] in far northwestern [[Florida]], the son of Edward H. Percy and the former Elizabeth Harting.<ref name="NYTobit"/> His father, an [[Alabama]] native descended from illustrious colonial-era [[Mississippi]]ans and [[Virginia]]ns, was at various times an automobile salesman and bank cashier. His Illinois-born mother was a [[violin|concert violinist]]. Edward was a son of Charles Brown Percy and Helen Leila Herndon of the powerful Herndon family of Virginia.<ref>[http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=REG&db=dowfam3&id=I178405 "Edward H. Percy"], Rootsweb</ref><ref>{{cite journal |jstor=4242470 <!-- |author-link=John W. Herndon --> |first=John W. |last=Herndon |title=A Genealogy of the Herndon Family |journal=[[The Virginia Magazine of History and Biography]] |volume=9 |issue=4 |date=April 1902 |pages=439–441 |publisher=[[Virginia Historical Society]]}}{{subscription required}}</ref> Elizabeth Harting was a daughter of Phineas Fredrick Harting and Belle Aschenbach.<ref>[http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=REG&db=dowfam3&id=I178404 "Elizabeth Harting"], Rootsweb</ref>
The family moved to [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]] when Percy was an infant. As a child, he had entrepreneurial energy and held jobs while attending school. In the mid-1930s, his pluck brought him to the attention of his [[Sunday school]] teacher, Joseph McNabb, the president of [[Bell & Howell]], then a small [[camera]] company.
Percy completed high school at [[New Trier High School]]. He entered the [[University of Chicago]] on a half tuition scholarship, and worked his way through college with several part-time jobs. He completed his degree in [[economics]] in 1941, and was a member of the [[Alpha Delta Phi]] fraternity.<ref name=WaPo_obit/><ref name="NYTobit"/>
==Business career== Percy started at Bell & Howell in 1938 as an apprentice and sales trainee while he was still in college. In 1939 he worked at [[Crowell Collier]].
He returned to Bell & Howell in 1941 to work full-time after graduating from the University of Chicago. Astute at business, within a year he was appointed a [[Board of directors|director of the company]]. Percy served three years in the [[United States Navy]] during [[World War II]] and returned to the company in 1945.<ref name=WhoWho/>
In 1949, the [[Junior Chamber|Jaycees]] named Percy one of the "Outstanding Young Men in America", along with [[Gerald R. Ford Jr.]], of [[Michigan]], future [[U.S. president]], and [[John Ben Shepperd]], future [[Texas attorney general]].<ref>[http://www.peoriajaycees.org/about/history/1940s/ The Forties] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426010816/http://www.peoriajaycees.org/about/history/1940s/ |date=April 26, 2011 }}. ''Peoria Jaycees''. Retrieved September 15, 2015.</ref>
After Joseph McNabb died in 1949, Percy was made the [[president (corporate title)|president]] of Bell & Howell. He was instrumental in leading the company during a period of financial success and growth.<ref name=percy>{{cite news|last=Clymer|first=Adam|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/us/politics/charles-percy-former-illinois-senator-is-dead-at-91.html?_r=0|title=Charles Percy, Former Ill. Senator, Is Dead at 91|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=September 17, 2011|access-date=September 15, 2015}}</ref> During his leadership, Percy expanded Bell & Howell, raising revenues 32-fold and the number of employees 12-fold, and listing the company on the [[New York Stock Exchange]]. While continuing to manufacture movie cameras and movie and sound projectors for military, commercial, and home use, in the late 1940s the company diversified into the production of [[microfilm]]. It later entered the rapidly expanding markets of information services as well.
==Political career== In the late 1950s, Percy decided to enter politics. With the encouragement of then [[U.S. President]] [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], Percy helped to write ''Decisions for a Better America'', which proposed a set of long-range goals for the Republican Party. He belonged to the moderate and liberal wing of the Republican party, led by Eisenhower during his presidency and later closely identified with [[New York (state)|New York]] Governor [[Nelson A. Rockefeller]]. In 1958, Percy served on the Rockefeller Foundation's Special Study Fund, essentially working as an informal advisor to Rockefeller's campaign for Governor of New York.<ref>{{cite book|last=Perlstein|first=Rick|title=Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus|page=56|url=https://archive.org/details/beforestormbarry0000perl_k0s0/page/54/mode/1up|year=2001|publisher=Hill and Wang|location=New York City|isbn=9781568584126}}</ref>
Percy first entered electoral politics with a run for [[governor of Illinois]] in [[1964 Illinois gubernatorial election|1964]], which he narrowly lost to [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] incumbent [[Otto Kerner, Jr.|Otto Kerner]].<ref name=percy/> During his gubernatorial campaign, Percy reluctantly endorsed conservative Republican [[1964 United States presidential election|presidential nominee]] [[Barry Goldwater]], his future Senate colleague. Goldwater fared poorly throughout the country, although he did marginally better [[1964 United States presidential election in Illinois|in Illinois]] than in the nation at large.
=== Murder of Valerie Percy === [[1966 United States Senate election in Illinois|In 1966]], when Percy ran for [[United States Senate|U.S. senator]] from Illinois, his 21-year-old daughter Valerie was murdered at the family home on the morning of September 18, late in the campaign. Her death was thought to have been caused by an intruder. After Illinois state police interviewed more than 14,000 people, spent over $300,000, and pursued 1,317 leads, lead No. 273 was the most viable, leading them to Francis Leroy Hohimer and Frederick Malchow, whom they believed committed the murder while robbing the house. The men were part of a gang of Mafia-backed thieves that would rob wealthy homes. Chicago detectives are certain of at least 30 jobs the gang pulled, with an excess of $3,000,000 in jewels and cash. Testimony from several key people after the murder stated Hohimer confessed to them that he killed Percy because she woke up. However, no physical evidence was ever found to connect either of them to scene, and nothing was stolen from the home that night. The crime was never solved despite a lengthy investigation.<ref name="Goudie2006">{{cite web |last=Goudie |first=Chuck |date=September 14, 2006 |title=Percy Killing: The Forty Year File 9/15/06 |url=http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=investigative&id=4563621 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113171951/http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news&id=4563621 |archive-date=January 13, 2014 |access-date=July 21, 2009 |work=[[WLS-TV|abc7chicago]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=TIME |date=1973-12-10 |title=CRIME: Percy Lead No. 273 |url=https://time.com/archive/6842115/crime-percy-lead-no-273/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240804021710/https://time.com/archive/6842115/crime-percy-lead-no-273/ |archive-date=Aug 4, 2024 |access-date=2025-02-06 |website=TIME |language=en}}</ref>
===U.S. Senate=== After his daughter's death, Percy and his opponent both suspended campaigning for a couple of weeks following Valerie's death.<ref name="tribobit" /> He upset Democratic Senator [[Paul Douglas (Illinois politician)|Paul Douglas]] (a former professor of Percy's at the University of Chicago) with 56 percent of the vote.<ref name="murder">{{cite book|last1=Kenney, Hartley|first1=David, Robert E.|title=An Uncertain Tradition : U.S. Senators from Illinois, 1818-2003|date=2003|publisher=SIU Press|page=177|isbn=9780809389636|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tr0PpyV1lSoC&q=chuck+percy+1966+56+percent+senate&pg=PA177|access-date=September 16, 2015}}</ref>
After Percy appeared on the television show ''[[Face The Nation]]'' on January 15, 1967, with the other newly elected Republican Senators, the then President Lyndon Johnson noted privately that he thought Percy would make a fine president if the opportunity should ever arise.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.discoverlbj.org/item/pdd-19670115|title = President's Daily Diary entry, 1/15/1967 · Discover Production}}</ref>
On December 12, 1967, Senator Percy met with South Vietnamese President Thieu and assured him that "no responsible people in either the Democratic or the Republican Party favored US withdrawal from South Vietnam."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v05/d436|title = Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume V, Vietnam, 1967 - Office of the Historian}}</ref>
In 1967, Senator Percy introduced a bill to establish a program to stimulate production of [[Affordable housing|low-cost housing]]. Percy's proposal was the first of its kind to provide home ownership to low-income families, and it received strong support from Republicans in both the House and the Senate, although it ultimately did not pass.<ref name=percy/> When asked why he selected housing for his first major legislative proposal, Percy said: "Of all the problems I ran across during three years of campaigning, first for the governorship and then for the Senate, the most appalling in their consequences for the future seemed to be the problems of the declining areas of the city and countryside, the inadequacy of housing."<ref name=percy/> Percy voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1968]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1968/s346|title=TO PASS H.R. 2516, A Bill to Prohibit Discrimination in Sale Or Rental of Housing, and to Prohibit Racially Motivated Interference With a Person Exercising His Civil Rights, and for Other Purposes.}}</ref> and the confirmation of [[Thurgood Marshall]] to the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1967/s176|title=Confirmation of Nomination of Thurgood Marshall, the First Negro Appointed to the Supreme Court.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref> joined other [[Rockefeller Republican]]s in voting against the Supreme Court nominations of [[Clement Haynsworth]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS0910135|title=To Advise and Consent to Nomination of Clement Haynesworth, Jr. to Be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court|publisher=VoteView}}</ref> and [[G. Harrold Carswell|George Harrold Carswell]],<ref name="RECOMMIT">{{cite web|url=https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS0910357|title=To Consent to the Nomination of George Harrold Carswell to Be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court|publisher=VoteView}}</ref> but did vote for [[William Rehnquist]] in 1971.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://voteview.com/rollcall/RS0920417|title=To Confirm the Nomination of William H. Rehnquist to Be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court|publisher=VoteView}}</ref>
When in the Senate less than two years, Percy was mentioned as a Republican hopeful for the 1968 presidential nomination. ''[[The New York Times]]'' columnist [[James B. Reston]] referred to him as "the hottest political article in the Republican Party".<ref name=nyt2011>{{cite news|last1=Clymer|first1=Adam|title=Charles Percy, Former Ill. Senator, Is Dead at 91|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/us/politics/charles-percy-former-illinois-senator-is-dead-at-91.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0|access-date=October 14, 2014|work=The New York Times|date=September 17, 2011}}</ref> In 1970, Percy spoke about his enjoyment of ''[[The Autobiography of Malcolm X]]'', saying "Every white person should read it."<ref>''I can Hear it Now'': "The 1960s", an [[audio recording]] with [[Walter Cronkite]]</ref>
In [[1972 United States Senate election in Illinois|1972]], Percy sought a second term to the Senate. In the general election, he defeated Congressman [[Roman Pucinski]] by a landslide. He gave up his seat on the important Senate Appropriations Committee for one on the Foreign Relations Committee.<ref name="tribobit"/>
In 1974, Percy introduced legislation making the {{convert|55|mph}} national maximum speed limit permanent, which became law in January 1975, remaining in effect until it was amended in 1987 to allow {{convert|65|mph}} on rural Interstate highways and finally repealed in 1995.<ref>"The Percy Record", p. 8. Accessed from http://digitalcollections.librarycmu.edu/awweb/awarchive?type=file@item=608450{{Dead link|date=July 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
In 1978, as Percy was completing his second term, he appeared invincible.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948264,00.html?promoid=googlep |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930041340/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948264,00.html?promoid=googlep |url-status=dead |archive-date=September 30, 2007 |title=Percy's Problem |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=November 6, 1978 |access-date=July 21, 2009}}</ref> Percy was considered so strong that the Democratic Party was unable to persuade any serious candidates to challenge him in [[1978 United States Senate election in Illinois|that year's election]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1978/ii780204.html <!-- |author-link=Al Manning presumably not the rugby player--> |first=Al |last=Manning |title=The slatemaking saga of Democrats — without Daley – Was anybody happy? |publisher=[[Northern Illinois University]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070913220210/http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1978/ii780204.html |archive-date=September 13, 2007 }}</ref> [[Alex Seith]], a [[dark horse]] candidate, was his Democratic challenger. Seith had never before sought elected office but had served as an appointee on the [[Cook County, Illinois|Cook County]] Zoning Board of Appeals for twelve years, nine as chairman.
At that time, Percy's reputation as a moderate Rockefeller Republican, contrasted with Seith's ostensible hard-line [[foreign policy of the United States|foreign policy]] positions, combined to make Percy suddenly vulnerable in the weeks before the election. Percy had earlier worked to broaden the base of the Republican Party and was an outlier to more conservative elements.<ref name="tribobit"/> Sensing his probable loss, Percy went on television days before the polling and, with tear-filled eyes, pleaded with Illinois voters to give him another chance. He said, "I got your message and you're right ... I'm sure that I've made my share of mistakes, but your priorities are mine."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://205.188.238.109/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948300-1,00.html |title=Got Your Message |magazine=Time |date=November 20, 1978 |access-date=July 21, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071218142845/http://205.188.238.109/time/magazine/article/0,9171,948300-1,00.html |archive-date=December 18, 2007 }}</ref> He won re-election 53% to Seith's 46%. [[File:Charles Percy, Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche, the Karmapa, Chogyam Trungpa.jpg|thumb|262x262px|1980 luncheon in honor of the [[Rangjung Rigpe Dorje, 16th Karmapa|16th Karmapa]] (Rangjung Rigpe Dorje) at the U S Capitol. [[Tibetan Buddhism|Tibetan Buddhists]] (seated left to right) [[Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche]], 16th Karmapa, [[Chogyam Trungpa]]. Standing is Ngodup Burkhar, a translator and Senator Charles Percy, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee|alt=]] After the Republicans won control of the Senate in 1980, Percy became chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee. That year he gave a luncheon in honor of the 16th Karmapa of Tibet at the United States Capitol with other Tibetan Buddhists and congressmen. He served in the Senate until the end of his third term in January 1985, after narrowly losing to Congressman [[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]] in [[1984 United States Senate election in Illinois|1984]]. Critics had accused Percy of paying more attention to foreign affairs than to the domestic issues of his constituents.<ref name="tribobit"/> After Percy's defeat, no Republican would win a senatorial race in Illinois until [[Peter Fitzgerald (politician)|Peter Fitzgerald]] [[1998 United States Senate election in Illinois|in 1998]], and no Republican would ever win Percy's old seat again.
In 2006, writing about the influence of political lobbies on the U.S. relationship with [[Israel]], political theorists [[John Mearsheimer]] and [[Stephen Walt]] wrote that they believed Percy's loss was the result of a campaign waged against him by the [[American Israel Public Affairs Committee]] (AIPAC).<ref name="LRB">{{cite journal |url=http://www.lrb.co.uk/v28/n06/john-mearsheimer/the-israel-lobby |author-link1=John Mearsheimer |first1=John |last1=Mearsheimer |author-link2=Stephen Walt |first2=Stephen |last2=Walt |title=The Israel Lobby |journal=[[London Review of Books]] |volume=28 |issue=6 |date=March 23, 2006 |access-date=September 6, 2011 |quote=[[Thomas A. Dine]], the president of AIPAC, said, "All Jews from coast to coast gathered to oust Percy. And the American politicians �� those who hold public positions now, and those who aspire – got the message."}}</ref> They note that despite a generally pro-Israel voting record, Percy incurred AIPAC's wrath by declining to sign the AIPAC-sponsored "Letter of 76" protesting President Ford's threatened "reassessment" of U.S. Middle East policy in 1975. Percy also called PLO leader [[Yasser Arafat]] more "moderate" than some other Palestinians. Earlier that year, Percy and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, [[Dante Fascell]] argued that [[Karl Linnas]], a former concentration camp commander who was to be deported from Pennsylvania to Estonia who lied in the papers he used to enter the United States, should not be sent to the Soviet Union. Linnas was found to have ordered, and participated in, the murders of Jews and other prisoners.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=hYNGAAAAIBAJ&pg=2966,1239299|title=D'Amato disowns letter|author=Jack Anderson|newspaper=The Evening News (Newburgh, NY)|date=January 14, 1985|page=4}}</ref> Percy's view, shared by Fascell, Representative [[Donald L. Ritter]] of Pennsylvania, and the [[Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe|Helsinki Commission]], was that Linnas should be deported, just not to the Soviet Union as it “would be an acknowledgement that the USSR has formally taken over Estonia.”
While in the Senate, Percy was active in business and international affairs. Although he explored the possibility of running for president in both 1968 and 1976, he did not run either time. During the early 1970s, he clashed with President Nixon and criticized the U.S. conduct of the [[Vietnam War]].
In 1977, Percy and Sen. [[Hubert H. Humphrey]]—responding to the 1973 OPEC oil embargo and high energy prices in general—created the [[Alliance to Save Energy]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ase.org/about-us/our-history |title=Our History |work=Alliance To Save Energy | access-date=September 20, 2011}}</ref> to encourage a national commitment to energy efficiency. Percy was the founding chairman of the organization.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ase.org/about-us/our-board-directors |title=Board of Directors |work=Alliance To Save Energy | access-date=September 20, 2011}}</ref>
Percy was mentioned again for the presidency in 1980 and 1988, but his candidacies did not progress beyond the exploratory stage.{{citation needed|date=May 2022}} In 1981, three congressional staffers of Percy's Subcommittee on Energy, Nuclear Proliferation, and Government Processes ([[William Strauss|Bill Strauss]], Elaina Newport, and Jim Aidala) formed the political-satire group the [[Capitol Steps]], which performed for 40 years.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/2004/01/25/elaina-newport-co-founder-the-capitol-steps-comedy-troupe-washington/b0040c1d-389e-42ef-9562-0a4ee995853b/|title=Elaina Newport, Co-Founder, the Capitol Steps comedy troupe, Washington|date=January 25, 2004|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=May 11, 2022|author=Julia Wilkinson}}</ref>
Perhaps Percy's most important act, and his longest-lasting legacy, was ending the practice of nominating [[United States federal judge|federal judges]] from a pool of candidates generated by the Chicago political machine. He implemented a system of consultation with, and advice from, groups of legal experts, including the professional bar association, a practice considered novel at the time.<ref name="Littlewood"/> One of his nominees, [[John Paul Stevens]], was selected by President [[Gerald Ford]] as a justice of the [[United States Supreme Court]].<ref name="Littlewood">{{cite journal |first=Tom |last=Littlewood |url=http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1976/ii760431.html |title=How Sen. Percy exercises prerogative in nominating judgeship candidates |journal=Illinois Issues |issue=4 |volume=II |date=April 1976 |access-date=July 21, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060910134937/http://www.lib.niu.edu/ipo/1976/ii760431.html |archive-date=September 10, 2006 }}</ref>
==Marriage and family== Percy was a [[Christian Science|Christian Scientist]].<ref name="NYTobit"/> During World War II, he married Jeanne Valerie Dickerson. They had twin daughters, Valerie and [[Sharon Percy Rockefeller|Sharon]] (born 1944) and a son Roger (born 1946). After Jeanne Percy's death in 1947, Percy married Loraine Diane Guyer in 1950. They had two children: Gail (born 1953) and Mark (born 1955).
One of his twin daughters, Valerie Percy, was murdered at age 21 in her bedroom in the family home in [[Kenilworth, Illinois]], near Chicago, during his senatorial campaign in September 1966.<ref name="goudie">[http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20110918/news/709189818/ Chuck Goudie, "Questions about Valerie Percy murder outlive her father"], ''[[Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Illinois)|Daily Herald]]'', September 18, 2011; accessed December 10, 2016</ref> She had been beaten and stabbed to death in her bed while the family was in residence. Although Valerie's stepmother allegedly briefly glimpsed the killer, and considerable resources were devoted to solving the crime, the identity of the murderer remains unknown.<ref name="NYTobit"/> The wife of a first responder physician to the scene stated in 2016 that her late husband, Dr. Robert Hohf, felt that "the crime scene had been cleaned up" by the time he arrived to the Percy home early on the morning of September 18, 1966.<ref name="nbcchicago">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nbcchicago.com/news/local/50-years-later-memories-still-vivid-for-valerie-percy-neighbor/2014206/|title = Kenilworth Woman's Husband Was First Doctor to Examine Valerie Percy}}</ref>
In 1967 her twin sister Sharon Percy married [[Jay Rockefeller|John D. Rockefeller IV]].<ref name="NYTobit"/> He became a politician and was later elected Democratic [[governor of West Virginia]] (1977–1985). He served as a [[United States senator]] for West Virginia from 1985 until 2015.
Percy remained active after leaving political office but suffered from [[Alzheimer's disease]] in later years.<ref>{{cite web |date=March 26, 2009 |publisher=[[John D. Rockefeller IV|Senator Rockefeller]] |title=Senator and Mrs. Rockefeller Honored at National Alzheimer's Gala |access-date=September 18, 2011 |url=http://rockefeller.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=310541 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110926213531/http://rockefeller.senate.gov/press/record.cfm?id=310541 |archive-date=September 26, 2011 }}</ref> He died on September 17, 2011, at the Washington Home and Community Hospice in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref name="NYTobit">{{cite news | last = Clymer | first = Adam | author-link = Adam Clymer | title = Charles Percy, Former Ill. Senator, Is Dead at 91 | work = The New York Times | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/us/politics/charles-percy-former-illinois-senator-is-dead-at-91.html?hp | access-date = September 17, 2011 | date=September 17, 2011}}</ref><ref name="tribobit">{{cite news |date=September 17, 2011|access-date=September 18, 2011 |title=Former U.S. Sen. Charles Percy dies |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-former-us-sen-charls-percy-dies-20110917,0,2174095.story <!-- |author-link=Rick Pearson wrong guy--> |first=Rick |last=Pearson |work=[[Chicago Tribune]]}} </ref> He was interred at [[Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)|Oak Hill Cemetery]] in Washington, D.C.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/P000222 |title=Percy, Charles Harting |website=[[Biographical Directory of the United States Congress]] |access-date=2022-08-16}}</ref>
==Awards== *1949 one of 10 outstanding young men of [[United States Junior Chamber|United States Junior Chamber of Commerce]] *1955 World Trade award World Trade Award Commission *1956 National Sales Executives Management award *1962 Business Man of Year award ''[[Saturday Review (U.S. magazine)|Saturday Review]]'' *1962 Statesmanship award [[Harvard Business School]] Association of Chicago *1962 Humanitarian Service award Abraham Lincoln Center *1986 Humanitarian of the Year award [[Save the Children Fund]] *1965 Top-Hat award [[National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs]] *1965 Business Administration award [[Drexel Institute]] *1982 [[UNICEF]] World of Children award *Lifetime Achievement Award [[Alliance to Save Energy]] *Commander [[French Legion of Honor]]
==References== <references/>
==External links== *{{commons category-inline}} {{Portal|Biography}} {{CongBio|P000222}} *[http://www.ourcampaigns.com/RaceDetail.html?RaceID=256806 Overview of 1984 primary election campaign] *{{cite video |url=http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video/2008/wallace/percy_charles.html |access-date=September 18, 2011 |date=July 6, 1958 |people=Charles H. Percy, (interviewer [[Mike Wallace]]) |title=The Mike Wallace Interview |location=[[Austin, Texas]] |publisher=[[Harry Ransom Center]], [[University of Texas, Austin]], originally [[American Broadcasting Company]] |archive-date=October 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111018143338/http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video/2008/wallace/percy_charles.html |url-status=dead }} *[https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/18/us/politics/charles-percy-former-illinois-senator-is-dead-at-91.html?_r=1&hp Obituary: Charles Percy, Former Illinois Senator, Is Dead"], ''The New York Times'', September 18, 2011 *{{find a Grave|76628830}} *{{C-SPAN|5966}}
{{s-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=[[William Stratton]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[Governor of Illinois]]|years=[[1964 Illinois gubernatorial election|1964]]}} {{s-aft|after=[[Richard B. Ogilvie]]}} |- {{s-bef|before=Samuel W. Witwer}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[United States Senator|U.S. Senator]] from [[Illinois]]<br>([[Classes of United States senators|Class 2]])|years=[[1966 United States Senate election in Illinois|1966]], [[1972 United States Senate election in Illinois|1972]], [[1978 United States Senate election in Illinois|1978]], [[1984 United States Senate election in Illinois|1984]]}} {{s-aft|after=[[Lynn Morley Martin]]}} |- {{s-bef|before=[[Everett Dirksen]]<br>[[Gerald Ford]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Response to the State of the Union address]]|years=1968|alongside=[[Howard Baker]], [[George H. W. Bush]], [[Peter H. Dominick|Peter Dominick]], [[Gerald Ford]], [[Robert P. Griffin|Robert Griffin]], [[Thomas Kuchel]], [[Melvin Laird|Mel Laird]], [[Bob Mathias]], [[George Murphy]], [[Richard Harding Poff|Dick Poff]], [[Al Quie]], [[Charlotte Thompson Reid|Charlotte Reid]], [[Hugh Scott]], [[William A. Steiger|Bill Steiger]], [[John Tower]]}} {{s-vac|next=[[Donald M. Fraser|Donald Fraser]], [[Henry M. Jackson|Scoop Jackson]], [[Mike Mansfield]], [[John William McCormack|John McCormack]], [[Patsy Mink]], [[Edmund Muskie|Ed Muskie]], [[William Proxmire|Bill Proxmire]]}} |- {{s-par|us-sen}} {{s-bef|before=[[Paul Douglas (Illinois politician)|Paul Douglas]]}} {{s-ttl|title=[[List of United States senators from Illinois|U.S. Senator (Class 2) from Illinois]]|years=1967–1985|alongside=[[Everett Dirksen]], [[Ralph Tyler Smith]], [[Adlai Stevenson III]], [[Alan J. Dixon]]}} {{s-aft|after=[[Paul Simon (politician)|Paul Simon]]}} |- {{s-bef|before=[[Karl Mundt]]}} {{s-ttl|title=Ranking Member of the [[United States Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs|Senate Governmental Affairs Committee]]|years=1973–1981}} {{s-aft|after=[[Thomas Eagleton]]}} |- {{s-bef|before=[[Frank Church]]}} {{s-ttl|title=Chair of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|Senate Foreign Relations Committee]]|years=1981–1985}} {{s-aft|after=[[Richard Lugar]]}} {{s-end}}
{{USSenIL}} {{SenForeignRelationsCommitteeChairmen}} {{United States presidential election, 1968}} {{USCongRep-start|congresses= 90th–98th [[United States Congress]]es |state=[[Illinois]]}} {{USCongRep/IL/90}} {{USCongRep/IL/91}} {{USCongRep/IL/92}} {{USCongRep/IL/93}} {{USCongRep/IL/94}} {{USCongRep/IL/95}} {{USCongRep/IL/96}} {{USCongRep/IL/97}} {{USCongRep/IL/98}} {{USCongRep-end}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Percy, Charles H.}} [[Category:1919 births]] [[Category:2011 deaths]] [[Category:American chief executives]] [[Category:American Christian Scientists]] [[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]] [[Category:Businesspeople from Chicago]] [[Category:Commanders of the Legion of Honour]] [[Category:Illinois Republicans]] [[Category:Military personnel from Illinois]] [[Category:New Trier High School alumni]] [[Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Washington, D.C.]] [[Category:People from Kenilworth, Illinois]] [[Category:People from Pensacola, Florida]] [[Category:Politicians from Chicago]] [[Category:Republican Party United States senators from Illinois]] [[Category:United States Navy officers]] [[Category:University of Chicago alumni]] [[Category:Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations]] [[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]] [[Category:Burials at Oak Hill Cemetery (Washington, D.C.)]] [[Category:20th-century United States senators]] [[Category:American recipients of the Legion of Honour]]