Benjamin A. Gilman (1922-2016) *94

was a Republican United States Representative from Middletown, New York. Gilman was born in Poughkeepsie, New York, the son of Esther (Gold) and Harry Gilman. His parents were Austrian Jewish immigrants. Gilman graduated from Middletown High School in Middletown, New York in 1941 and received a B.S. from the Wharton School Finance at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946. He also earned an LL.B. from New York Law School. Gilman served in the United States Army Air Corps from 1942 until 1945 during World War II. During that conflict, he flew 35 missions over Japan, earning the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Oak Leaf Clusters.

Career[edit]

A graduate of New York Law School (1950), Gilman served as assistant attorney general to the New York State Attorney General from 1953 until 1955. Following this, he practiced law privately in his hometown of Middletown, New York.

Gilman was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1967 to 1972, sitting in the 177th, 178th and 179th New York State Legislatures. He was a member of the New York State Southeastern Water Commission.

He was elected to Congress in 1972 to represent New York's 26th congressional district, defeating John G. Dow, a Democratic incumbent who had been serving in the New York's 27th congressional district (which included most of the territory and population of the new 26th district), and served from January 3, 1973 until January 3, 2003. During his time in Congress, he was chair of the House Committee on International Relations (104th through 106th Congresses).

Gilman served as a Congressional delegate to the United Nations, serving under Ambassador Jeane Kirkpatrick in 1981. He was a Member of the Ukraine Famine Commission, a member of the U.S., European, Canadian and Mexican Interparliamentary conferences, and a Congressional Advisor to the U.N. Law of the Sea Conference.

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