Editing Stuart Symington (section)

{{Short description|American politician (1901–1988)}}
{{About|the U.S. senator from Missouri|the cricketer|Stuart Symington (cricketer)|the diplomat|W. Stuart Symington (diplomat)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2011}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name         = Stuart Symington
|image        = Portrait of W. Stuart Symington 97-1844.jpg
|jr/sr        = United States Senator
|state        = [[Missouri]]
|term_start   = January 3, 1953
|term_end     = December 27, 1976
|predecessor  = [[James P. Kem]]
|successor    = [[John Danforth]]
|office1      = 1st [[United States Secretary of the Air Force]]
|president1   = [[Harry S. Truman]]
|term_start1  = September 18, 1947
|term_end1    = April 24, 1950
|predecessor1 = Position established
|successor1   = [[Thomas K. Finletter]]
|office2      = 3rd Assistant Secretary of War for Air <ref> https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/105727/w-stuart-symington/ </ref>
|president2   = [[Harry S. Truman]]
|term_start2  = January 3, 1946
|term_end2    = September 18, 1947
|predecessor2 = [[Robert A. Lovett]]
|successor2   = Position abolished
|birth_name   = William Stuart Symington III
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1901|6|26}}
|birth_place  = [[Amherst, Massachusetts]], U.S.
|death_date   = {{nowrap|{{death date and age|1988|12|14|1901|6|26}}}}
|death_place  = [[New Canaan, Connecticut]], U.S.
|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
|spouse       = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Evelyn Wadsworth<br />|March 1, 1924|December 24, 1972|end=died}}
* {{Marriage|Ann Hemingway Watson|1978}}
}}
|relatives    = [[Symington family (United States)|Symington family]]
|education    = [[Baltimore City College]]<br/>[[Yale University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])
|allegiance   = United States
|branch       = [[United States Army]]
|serviceyears = 1918–1919
|rank         = [[File:Army-USA-OF-01b.svg|20px]] [[Second lieutenant|Second Lieutenant]] 
|unit         = [[84th Division (United States)|84th Division]]
|battles      = [[World War I]]
}}
'''William Stuart Symington III''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|s|aɪ|m|ɪ|ŋ|t|ən}} {{respell|SY|ming|tən}}; June 26, 1901 – December 14, 1988) was an American businessman and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] politician from [[Missouri]]. He served as the first [[United States Secretary of the Air Force|secretary of the Air Force]] from 1947 to 1950 and was a [[United States Senate|United States senator]] from Missouri from 1953 to 1976.

Born in [[Amherst, Massachusetts]], Symington worked as an executive in his uncle's iron products company and for other companies before becoming president of [[Emerson Electric]]. He resigned from Emerson in 1945 to take various positions in the administration of President [[Harry S. Truman]], becoming the first Secretary of the Air Force in 1947. He was elected to the Senate in 1952, defeating incumbent [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Senator [[James P. Kem]]. He joined the [[United States Senate Committee on Armed Services|United States Senate Armed Services Committee]] and the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations]], and emerged as a prominent critic of [[McCarthyism]].

Symington sought the Democratic nomination in the [[1960 United States presidential election|1960 presidential election]] with the backing of former President Truman, but the nomination went to [[John F. Kennedy]]. After the [[History of the Oakland Athletics|Kansas City Athletics]] moved to [[Oakland, California|Oakland]], Symington threatened to revoke [[Major League Baseball]]'s [[United States antitrust law|antitrust]] exemption, which in turn encouraged the formation of the [[Kansas City Royals]]. Symington declined to seek re-election in 1976 and was succeeded by [[John Danforth]].