Senator Joseph McCarthy Timeline

1908, Nov. 14 McCarthy born in Little Chute, Wisconsin.
 
1935   McCarthy graduates from Marquette University Law School.
 
1939   McCarthy elected circuit judge in Appleton, WI.
 
1942-1945   McCarthy enlists in U.S. Marine Corps, serving in the United States and the Pacific theater of operations.
 
1944   McCarthy runs unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate while serving in Marines.
 
1946, Nov. 5 McCarthy elected to U.S. Senate.
 
1950, Feb. 9 McCarthy delivers speech in Wheeling, West Virginia attacking Communists in the State Department. Marks the beginning of his anti-communist crusade.
 
1950, March 8 U.S. Senate establishes Foreign Relations Subcommittee chaired by Senators Tydings and MacMahon. The Tydings-MacMahon Committee begins investigating McCarthy's accusations against the State Department.
 
1950, June 25 North Korea invades South Korea.
 
1950, Dec. U.S. Senate establishes Internal Security Subcommittee chaired by Sen. Pat McCarran. The McCarran Committee works with McCarthy to expose alleged Communists.
 
1951, June 14 McCarthy criticizes Gen. George C. Marshall in Senate speech.
 
1952, Nov. 4 McCarthy re-elected to U.S. Senate. Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower elected President of the United States.
 
1953, Jan. 20 McCarthy becomes chairman of Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
 
1953, Aug. 31 McCarthy begins investigating Communists in the U.S. Army.
 
1954, March 9 Edward R. Murrow criticizes McCarthy in his television program,See It Now.
 
1954, Apr 22 - Jun 17 Televised Army-McCarthy Hearings.
 
1954, Nov. Mid-term elections. Republicans become minority party in Senate. McCarthy loses chairmanship of Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.
 
1954, Dec. 2 U.S. Senate votes to condemn McCarthy.
 
1957, May 2 McCarthy dies at Bethesda Naval Hospital. He is buried in Appleton, Wisconsin on May 6th.

Click here for more details on the career of Senator Joe McCarthy.