On September 1, 1983, U.S. Senator Henry M. "Scoop" Jackson (1912-1983) dies in Everett of a heart attack. Jackson represented Washington in the House of Representatives and in the Senate for 42 years. He will be succeeded in the Senate by former Governor Daniel J. Evans (1925-2024).
Jackson was raised in Everett and earned the nickname Scoop in the 1920s when he delivered 74,880 copies of The Everett Herald without a complaint. He became a Snohomish County prosecutor and was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1940 as a Democrat from the 2nd Congressional District.
In 1952, he was elected to the Senate where he became an advocate of a strong defense. In 1960, he was under serious consideration as the running mate of Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy (1917-1963). Jackson ran for president twice. In 1968, he was offered the post of Secretary of Defense by Republican President-elect Richard M. Nixon (1913-1994), but Jackson declined.
During the Vietnam War, Jackson was a "hawk" (Seattle P-I). Supporters of U.S. policies in Vietnam were known as "hawks." People opposed to the war were known as "doves."
Jackson was stricken at his home in Everett and was pronounced dead at a hospital. He was buried at Evergreen Cemetery in Everett.
On September 8, 1983, a week after Jackson's death, Governor John Spellman (1926-2018) appointed former Governor Daniel J. Evans (b. 1925) to Jackson's seat in the Senate. Evans resigned as head of The Evergreen State College and as head of the Northwest Power Planning Council.
