Weston Vivian, former Ann Arbor congressman and civil rights advocate, dies at 96
Updated Dec 18, 2020;
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He was 96.
A devoted family man and accomplished educator and scientist, he passed away in Ann Arbor with family by his side Dec. 4, according to his obituary.
Vivian was elected to represent Michigan’s 2nd District in a Democratic landslide in 1964, unseating Republican George Meader in a district considered a GOP stronghold at the time.
He and several other one-term Democrats were defeated two years later amid a Republican resurgence, but they accomplished a lot in their short time in office.
“Even in just a single term in Congress, Weston Vivian left his mark on our nation by working with my husband, John, to enact the Voting Rights Act and create Medicare and Medicaid,” U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Dearborn, said in a statement.