{{Short description|American politician (1917–1969)}} {{about|the American politician|the alternative eye therapist|William Bates (physician)|the United States Navy submarine|USS William H. Bates (SSN-680)}} {{More citations needed|date=January 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | image = William Henry Bates 89th Congress 1965.png | state = [[Massachusetts]] | district = {{ushr|MA|6|6th}} | term_start = February 14, 1950 | term_end = June 22, 1969 | preceded = [[George J. Bates]] | succeeded = [[Michael J. Harrington]] | birth_name = William Henry Bates | birth_date = {{birth date|1917|4|26|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Salem, Massachusetts]], U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age |1969|06|22|1917|04|26}} | death_place = [[Bethesda, Maryland]], U.S. | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | spouse = | relations = [[John Mulaney]] (great nephew)<ref>"[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I5l64ZmEWY Interview with John Mulaney]". ''[[Late Night with Seth Meyers]]''. NBC. February 8, 2018.</ref> | children = | alma_mater = [[Brown University]], 1940, [[Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration]], 1947 | occupation = | profession = | signature = | website = | allegiance = {{flagicon|USA|1945}} [[United States]] | branch = {{flagicon|USA|navy}} [[United States Navy]] | service_years = | rank = [[File:US Navy O1 infobox.svg|18px]] [[Ensign (rank)#United States|Ensign]] | commands = | unit = | battles = *[[World War II]]<br>*[[Iwo Jima]] campaign | awards = }} '''William Henry Bates''' (April 26, 1917 – June 22, 1969) was a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]] notable for his staunch support of the [[United States Navy]].
==Life and career== Bates was born in [[Salem, Massachusetts]], the son of Nora (Jennings) and Representative [[George J. Bates]] of the {{ushr|Massachusetts|6|6th Massachusetts Congressional District}}, who also served as Salem's mayor. He attended local schools and graduated from [[Worcester Academy]] in 1936. He received his undergraduate education at [[Brown University]], Providence, R.I., graduating in 1940. Following graduation from Brown, he enlisted in the [[United States Navy]] in July 1940 and was commissioned as ensign in the Naval Reserve on January 30, 1941. Bates then received instruction at the Naval Reserve Supply Officer's School at the Naval Medical Center, [[Washington, D.C.]], before serving successive tours of duty at the [[Washington Navy Yard]] and in [[USS Constellation (IX-20)|''Constellation'' (IX-20)]].
He remained a naval reservist, and by 1949 had become the supply officer for the 4th Naval District. While Bates was stationed there, his father was killed in a plane crash at the [[Washington National Airport]] on November 1, 1949.
Bates resigned his reserve commission — he had attained the rank of lieutenant commander by that time — on February 14, 1950, to fill the seat of his late father in the [[United States House of Representatives]]. For nearly two decades, until his death in 1969, Bates staunchly advocated a strong military posture for the United States. On the [[United States Congress Joint Committee on Atomic Energy|Joint Congressional Committee on Atomic Energy]] and the [[House Armed Services Committee]], he vigorously supported the development of nuclear-powered naval vessels. He also vigorously backed incentive pay programs and the establishment of better housing facilities for servicemen. He constantly sought means to enhance the training, caliber, and morale of military personnel. Bates voted in favor of the [[Civil Rights Act of 1957|Civil Rights Acts of 1957]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/85-1957/h42|title=HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref> [[Civil Rights Act of 1960|1960]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/86-1960/h102|title=HR 8601. PASSAGE.}}</ref> [[Civil Rights Act of 1964|1964]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/h128|title=H.R. 7152. PASSAGE.}}</ref> and [[Civil Rights Act of 1968|1968]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/90-1967/h113|title=TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR INTERFERENCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS. INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON ENGAGED IN ONE OF THE 8 ACTIVITIES PROTECTED UNDER THIS BILL MUST BE RACIALLY MOTIVATED TO INCUR THE BILL'S PENALTIES.}}</ref> as well as the [[Twenty-fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution|24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution]] and the [[Voting Rights Act of 1965]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/87-1962/h193|title=S.J. RES. 29. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN THE USE OF POLL TAX AS A REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS.|work=GovTrack.us}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/89-1965/h87|title=TO PASS H.R. 6400, THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT.}}</ref>
Bates died of stomach cancer on June 22, 1969.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/cq/2007/03/14/cq_2412.html |title=Special Elections in Massachusetts Have Been Very, Very Good to Democrats |work=New York Times |date=March 14, 2007}}</ref> Immediately upon his death, the U.S. Navy [[attack submarine]] {{USS|William H. Bates|SSN-680}}, originally planned to be named USS ''Redfish'', was renamed in his honor before her construction began.
The Bates Bridge, which crosses the [[Merrimack River]] between [[Groveland, Massachusetts|Groveland]] and [[Haverhill, Massachusetts|Haverhill]], Massachusetts, is named in his honor.
His great-nephew is comedian [[John Mulaney]], whose maternal grandmother is Bates' sister.
==See also== * [[List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1950–1999)]]
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links == {{CongBio|B000239}}
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Massachusetts | district=6 | before=[[George J. Bates]] | after=[[Michael J. Harrington]] | years=February 14, 1950 - June 22, 1969 }} {{end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bates, William H.}} [[Category:1917 births]] [[Category:1969 deaths]] [[Category:Worcester Academy alumni]] [[Category:Brown University alumni]] [[Category:Harvard Business School alumni]] [[Category:United States Navy personnel of World War II]] [[Category:United States Navy officers]] [[Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Massachusetts]] [[Category:Deaths from stomach cancer in Maryland]] [[Category:United States Navy reservists]] [[Category:20th-century Massachusetts politicians]] [[Category:20th-century United States representatives]]