George W. Dixon

Preceded by
 **In office**
 Preceded by
 Succeeded by
 **In office**
 Preceded by
 Succeeded by
 Born
November 11, 1950 (age 50)
 Political party
 Spouse(s)
 Education
 Website

**George Widener Dixon** (born November 11, 1950), is an American Politician and Lawyer, serving as the 43rd President of the United States. He also served as Pennsylvania's Senior Senator from 1981 to 2001, and as a Representative for Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District from 1975 to 1981. He is a graduate of Princeton University and the University of Pennsylvania, and is married to Catherine Edith Rockefeller Coolidge, with whom he has 3 children with. He is the 3rd Great Grandson of Henry Clay Frick, and a practicing Episcopalian.

**Early Life and Education**

George Widener Dixon III was born on November 11, 1950, at the University of Pennsylvania Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to George Widener Dixon II (1912-1990), was a Philadelphia native and a graduate of Princeton and the University of Pennsylvania was Wall Street Trader and later served as Governor of Pennsylvania. His mother, Pauline Gardiner Hollingsworth (b. 1915), was a native of Newport, Rhode Island, and was a graduate of Barnard College was a housewife. She was the great-grandaughter of Senator Thomas Bayard of Delaware. Dixon had a privileged upbringing, growing up in his family's historic mansion in Devon, Pennsylvania, "Broadmoor". He attended the Lawrenceville School from 1960 to 1967 He was a remarkable student at Lawrenceville, winning many National Academic Competitions. He then studied Political Science and History at his father's alma mater, Princeton University, graduating in 1971 with a Bachelors's in Political Science. He then earned a Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1973.

**Early Career**

After Dixon graduated from Penn, he found employment at the New York Law Firm of Cravath, Swaine & Moore. After 3 years of working at the firm, he left and ran for congress. He ran for Pennsylvania's 6th Congressional District as a Republican, winning election in 1975. While serving in this position, he met Catherine Coolidge (b. 1958), a native of Port Chester, New York, and the great-granddaughter of both President Calvin Coolidge and Millionaire John D. Rockfeller. They married in 1977, while she was a student at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts and have three children. Dixon continued to represent the 6th District, until 1981, when he was elected to represent Pennsylvania in the United States Senate.

**Senate Tenure**

Dixon was the youngest ever elected senator, being sworn in at age 30. During his tenure in the Senate, he was known for his strong small-government views. Throughout his tenure in the Senate, he served as Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1995 to 1997 and Senate Majority Whip from 1997 to 2001. Dixon was responsible for passing many monumental bills, such as the Jobs Creation Act of 2001. Dixon resigned from his Senate seat on January 20, 2001 to be sworn in as President of the United States, following 20 years in the Senate. Dixon's wife, Catherine, was appointed by Governor Tom Ridge to succeed him, later winning a Special Election in 2002 to retain the seat in a landslide.

**Presidency**