Arthur Edson Blair Moody (February 13, 1902 July 20, 1954), known as Blair Moody, was a Democratic U.S. Senator from the state

U.S. state

A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...

 of Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

.

Early life

Moody was born in New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven, Connecticut

New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...

 and attended the public schools in Providence, Rhode Island

Providence, Rhode Island

Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...

. He graduated from Brown University

Brown University

Brown University is a private, Ivy League university located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Founded in 1764 prior to American independence from the British Empire as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations early in the reign of King George III ,...

 with a degree in economics in 1922. He was an instructor in history at the Moses Brown School

Moses Brown School

Moses Brown School is a Quaker school located in Providence, Rhode Island, founded by Moses Brown, a Quaker abolitionist, in 1784. It is one of the oldest preparatory schools in the country.-Founder:...

, a preparatory school in Providence 1922-1923.

Moody moved to Detroit, Michigan

Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...

 and worked from 1923 to 1951 as a reporter covering Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

, for the Detroit News, a newspaper owned by his uncle, William Scripps

William Edmund Scripps

William Edmund Scripps was a noted newspaper publisher with The Detroit News, pioneer aviator; and one of the original founders of WWJ radio station.-Family:...

. He was a correspondent for Barron's Financial Weekly from 1934 to 1948 and also wrote extensively for the North American Newspaper Alliance

North American Newspaper Alliance

The North American Newspaper Alliance was a large newspaper syndicate that flourished between 1922 and 1980.Founded by John Neville Wheeler, NANA employed some of the most noted writing talents of its time, including Grantland Rice, Joseph Alsop, Michael Stern, Lothrop Stoddard, Dorothy Thompson,...

 and the Bell Syndicate

Bell Syndicate

The Bell Syndicate, launched in 1916 by editor-publisher John Neville Wheeler, was an American syndicate which distributed columns, fiction, feature articles and comic strips to newspapers for decades...

. Moody was a combat war correspondent in 1944, covering the war in Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

, the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, the Middle East

Middle East

The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...

, and Iran

Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...

. He moderated a radio and television program Meet Your Congress from 1946 to 1952. He was a foreign correspondent during 1947-1948.

Government service

Following the death of U.S. Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg

Arthur H. Vandenberg

Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg was a Republican Senator from the U.S. state of Michigan who participated in the creation of the United Nations.-Early life and family:...

, Moody was appointed on April 22, 1951, as a Democrat to the United States Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

. He served from April 23, 1951, to November 4, 1952. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1952, losing to Republican Charles E. Potter

Charles E. Potter

Charles Edward Potter was a U.S. Representative and a U.S. Senator from the state of Michigan.-Early Life:...

.

Later years

He resumed his newspaper and radio career.

He died in Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor, Michigan

Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...

, while campaigning for the Democratic nomination for United States Senator, of a heart attack

Myocardial infarction

Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...

 following complications of viral pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

. Blair Moody was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery

Woodlawn Cemetery (Detroit, Michigan)

Woodlawn Cemetery is a cemetery located at 19975 Woodward Avenue, across from the Michigan State Fairgrounds, between 7 Mile Road and 8 Mile Road, in Detroit, Michigan. It is one of the area's most well-known cemeteries.-History:...

.

Family

Blair Moody married his first wife Mary Ann in 1930 and they had a son, Blair Jr. They were divorced in 1940 and Blair Sr. married his second wife, Ruth. From 1946 until 1954, Blair Moody had an affair with Helen Knowland, the wife of his friend Senator William Knowland. William Knowland later began an affair with Ruth Moody which lasted until her death in 1961.

Blair and Ruth Moody had two sons, Christopher and Robin. Blair Moody, Jr., was a Wayne County

Wayne County, Michigan

-History:Wayne County was one of the first counties formed when the Northwest Territory was organized. It was named for the American general "Mad Anthony" Wayne. It originally encompassed the entire area of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, as well as small sections that are now part of northern...

 Circuit Court

Circuit court

Circuit court is the name of court systems in several common law jurisdictions.-History:King Henry II instituted the custom of having judges ride around the countryside each year to hear appeals, rather than forcing everyone to bring their appeals to London...

 Judge, and a Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court

Michigan Supreme Court

The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices who are elected to eight-year terms. Candidates are nominated by political parties and are elected on a nonpartisan ballot...

. Robin Moody is the founder and President of Daedalus Books

Daedalus Books

Daedalus Books is an independent seller of books, music, and video founded in 1980. While it sells new titles, Daedalus Books' specialty is the remaindered book. Their philosophy is to keep bestsellers, classics, and overlooked gems available to the reading public.Daedalus Books' primary location...

.

An elementary school in Taylor, Michigan

Taylor, Michigan

Taylor is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 63,131 at the 2010 census. Taylor was originally known as Taylor Township and residents of the township voted to incorporate as the City of Taylor in May 1968...

, is named for Senator Blair Moody.