William Fife Knowland

William Fife Knowland (born June 26, 1908, Alameda, Calif., U.S.—died Feb. 23, 1974, Monte Rio, Calif.) was a U.S. politician, leader of Senate Republicans in the early 1950s, and best-known for his ardent support of Nationalist China (Taiwan).

The son of a congressman and newspaper publisher, Knowland began his political career at an early age. At 12 he was making speeches for the Harding–Coolidge ticket, and by 25 he held a seat in the California Assembly. Two years later he was in the state Senate, and in 1945—when just 37 years old—he was appointed to fill the unexpired term of U.S. Senator Hiram W. Johnson. In the meantime, he acquired a degree from the University of California; worked for the family newspaper, the Oakland Tribune; and chaired the executive committee of the Republican National Committee.

While holding some liberal positions on domestic issues, Knowland made his reputation as a leader of the “China Lobby.” He decried the loss of mainland China to the Communists in 1949 and advocated the return of Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist government to power on the Chinese mainland. He also accused such China experts as John Paton Davies and Owen Lattimore of being pro-Communist, thereby effectively ending their careers in government service.

Overwhelmingly reelected in 1952, Knowland became chairman of the Republican Party’s policy committee the following year, and he served as party leader in the Senate following the death of Robert A. Taft. He was a consistent supporter of Senator Joseph McCarthy, and he opposed the Senate resolution censuring McCarthy and his anti-Communist crusade.

Knowland announced that he would run for the Republican presidential nomination in 1956 if President Dwight D. Eisenhower retired in that election year. After Eisenhower was reelected, Knowland decided to run for governor of California in 1958, in preparation for the 1960 presidential race. He lost that contest to Edmund (Pat) Brown, returned to the newspaper business, and never again held elective office. Knowland died in 1974 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.