Hale Boggs, first elected to the House from Louisiana in 1940 and again in 1946, served in Congress for 28 years. Known for voting his conscience, Boggs broke with many of his fellow southern Members to support the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Fair Housing Act of 1968. Boggs was presumed dead when the plane he was on with fellow Member Nick Begich disappeared during an Alaskan campaign trip in 1972.
