He was elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in 1958 and began serving in 1959.
On June 10, 1964, during the roll call for the historic, successful effort to break the filibuster on what would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964, when the clerk reached "Mr. Engle," there was no reply. A brain tumor had robbed California's Engle of his ability to speak. Slowly lifting a crippled arm, he pointed to his eye, thereby signaling his affirmative vote. Few who witnessed Engle's brave act forgot it. Nine days later the Senate approved the act itself—producing one of America's towering 20th century legislative achievements.
ClairEngle (September 21, 1911–July 30, 1964) was an American politician.
Born in Bakersfield, California, he attended public school and graduated from Chico State College in 1930 and from the University of California Hastings College of Law in 1933.
Engle died in Washington, D.C. a month and a half later.
Later known as the" Little Giant in Politics" and the "Pride of Red Bluff", ClairEngle was born in Bakersfield, California.
Clair was District Attorney of Tehama County at age twenty-three, California State Senator at thirty-one, Congressman at thirty-two, and a United States Senator at forty-seven.
Not only did ClairEngle vote for the Law, he took his views into the labor spots of his nineteen-county Congressional District and carried such labor towns as Roseville and Redding by a bigger margin than ever before.
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