Rep. Don Young, longtime Alaska congressman, dies at 88

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Don Young, who was the longest-serving Republican in the history of the U.S. House, has died. He was 88.

Young, who was first elected to the U.S. House in 1973, was known for his brusque style. In his later years in office, his off-color comments and gaffes sometimes overshadowed his work.

During his 2014 reelection bid, he described himself as intense and less-than-perfect but said he wouldn’t stop fighting for Alaska.

Young was born on June 9, 1933, in Meridian, California. He earned a bachelor’s degree in teaching in 1958 and served in the U.S. Army.

Young came to Alaska in 1959, the same year that Alaska became a state. He credited Jack London’s “Call of the Wild,” which his father used to read to him, for drawing him north.

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