Emanuel Celler
Brooklyn dean of the House whose immigration act of 1965 ended national-origin quotas.
Overview
Celler served from 1923 to 1973, 50 years, and chaired the Judiciary Committee from 1949 to 1953 and 1955 to 1973, a record tenure. Over southern opposition he steered the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, and 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 through the House, and his Hart-Celler Immigration Act of 1965 abolished the national-origins quota system dating to 1921, reshaping the American population. He championed antitrust enforcement and court reform, and his 1972 defeat after redistricting ended the longest judiciary reign in House history.
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