Mansfield, Mike

Mansfield, (Michael Joseph) Mike (1903–  ) educator, U.S. representative/senator, diplomat; born in New York City. Raised in Montana, he dropped out of school at age 14 and served with the U.S. military from 1917 to 1922. He earned a B.A. and an M.A. from Montana State University where he taught history and political science (1934–43). He served in the U.S. House of Representatives (Dem., Mont.; 1943–53) and then in the U.S. Senate (1953–77), where as majority leader (1961–77) he became an influential critic of the U.S. role in the Vietnam War. President Carter named him ambassador to Japan (1977).