Birth Name: Edmund Sixtus Muskie
Date of Birth: March 28, 1914
Place of Birth: Rumford, Maine, U.S.
Date of Death: March 26, 1996
Place of Death: Washington, D.C., U.S.
Ethnicity: Polish
Edmund Muskie was an American statesman, reformer, politician, author, and academic. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 64th Governor of Maine, from January 5, 1955 to January 2, 1959, a U.S. Senator from Maine, from January 3, 1959 to May 7, 1980, and the 58th U.S. Secretary of State, from May 8, 1980 to January 20, 1981.
Edmund was the Democratic Party’s nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1968. He was a candidate for the Democratic Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 1972.
Edmund was the son of Josephine (Czarnecki/Cznaranecka) and Stephen Marcuszewski/Marciszewski/Muskie. His father was a Polish immigrant. His mother was born in New York, to Polish parents.
Edmund’s paternal grandparents were Wincenty Marciszewski and Emilia Barszczewska.
Edmund’s maternal grandparents were Teodor/Theodore Czarnecki and Antonina/Antoinette Tryjankowski/Tryjankawski.
Edmund was one of four people of significant Slavic ancestry to have won a major American political party’s Presidential caucus and/or primary. He won 4 states in 1972. The other three people are:
*Harold Stassen (Republican; in 1944, he won 1 state, Nebraska; in 1948, he won 4 states; in 1952, he won 1 state, Minnesota; Stassen also sought the 1964, 1968, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, and 1992 Republican nominations; Stassen’s paternal grandmother was Czech)
*Tom Harkin (1992; Democratic; won 1 state, Iowa; Harkin’s mother was of Slovene descent)
*John Kasich (Republican; ran in 2000 and 2016: in 2016, he won 1 state, Ohio; Kasich is of Czech and Croatian descent)
Other people of significant Slavic ancestry who have mounted major campaigns for President of the United States are:
*George H. Bender (who sought the 1960 Republican nomination; Bender was of Czech descent)
*James Traficant (who sought the 1988 Democratic nomination; Traficant’s mother of Slovak descent)
*Dennis Kucinich (who sought the 2004 and 2008 Democratic nominations; Kucinich’s father was of Croatian descent)
*Tim Pawlenty (who sought the 2012 Republican nomination; Pawlenty’s father was of Polish descent)
*Gary Johnson (who sought the 2012 Republican nomination, was the Libertarian Party’s 2012 Presidential nominee, and is the Libertarian Party’s 2016 Presidential nominee; Johnson’s mother was of Ukrainian descent)
Sources: Genealogy of Edmund Muskie – https://www.geni.com
Edmund Muskie on the 1920 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org