Death
Redistricting following the 1970 census had put freshman representative Bella Abzug of the neighboring 19th district in the same district as Ryan. Abzug challenged the then ailing Ryan in the Democratic primary. Ryan prevailed by a considerable margin, but died two months later in New York City on September 17, 1972. His widow, Priscilla Ryan, ran to succeed her late husband, but was defeated in the special party convention to decide Ryan's replacement on the Democratic ballot, by Abzug. She also lost the general election to Abzug, running on the Liberal Party line.
Ryan was buried in St. Thomas Church Cemetery in Croom, Maryland.
Read more about this topic: William Fitts Ryan
Famous quotes containing the word death:
“If thee thy brittle beauty so deceives,
Know then the thing that swells thee is thy bane;
For the same beauty doth, in bloody leaves.
The sentence of thy early death contain.”
—Sir Richard Fanshawe (1608–1666)
“Every American, to the last man, lays claim to a “sense” of humor and guards it as his most significant spiritual trait, yet rejects humor as a contaminating element wherever found. America is a nation of comics and comedians; nevertheless, humor has no stature and is accepted only after the death of the perpetrator.”
—E.B. (Elwyn Brooks)
“Death destroys a man, but the idea of death saves him.”
—E.M. (Edward Morgan)