Don Edwards - Biography

Biography

Born in San Jose, California, he attended the public schools in the city, graduating from San Jose High Academy, before earning a B.A. from Stanford University in 1936, where he was member of the Stanford golf team. Edwards then attended Stanford Law School and was admitted to the bar in 1940. Edwards was a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation from 1940 to 1941, when he joined the United States Navy as a naval intelligence and gunnery officer during World War II. He was the president of Valley Title Company of Santa Clara County from 1951 to 1975, and a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions of 1964 and 1968.

Edwards was elected as a Democrat to the 88th from the 10th Congressional District (later redistricted to the 16th Congressional District) and to the fifteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1963–January 3, 1995). He was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1988 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against Alcee Hastings, judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida, and again in 1989 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against Walter Nixon, judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi. Edwards was the chairman of the House Subcommittee on Civil Liberties and Civil Rights for 23 years. He was not a candidate for reelection to the 104th Congress.

Don Edwards was married to Edith Wilkie Edwards until her death.