Sen Birch Bayh was the legislative shepherd of the 25th Amendment, passed by Congress in 1965 and ratified in 1967, that provided for filling a vacancy in the office of vice president and, crucially, for the declaration by Cabinet officials and Congress of a sitting president’s incapacity to discharge his duties. Two presidents have temporarily assigned their duties to their vice presidents while undergoing surgery, per Bayh’s amendment.

Bayh was the lead Senate sponsor of Title IX, the 1972 anti-discrimination statute that paved the way for wider women’s participation in college sports. And Bayh pushed for the 26th Amendment, which lowered the voting age for all elections, state and federal, to 18. It moved through Congress and the states in just over three months during 1971.

Birch Evans Bayh Jr. was born Jan. 22, 1928, in Terre Haute, Ind., close to Shirkieville, where forebears had farmed for generations. His father was an athletic director who in 1935 moved the family to Montgomery County, Md., when he became director of physical education for the D.C. public school system. His mother died shortly afterward and Bayh returned to Indiana and his grandparents’ Shirkieville farm. There he grew tomatoes and won a state ribbon encouraging him to enroll in the agriculture program at Purdue University. After a two-year hiatus for what was then mandatory Army service, he graduated in 1951.

His senior classmates elected him president. He excelled in boxing and baseball. A strong debater, he represented Indiana at the American Farm Bureau’s national debate competition in Chicago. His opponent was Marvella Hern from Oklahoma and they married in 1952, and the newlyweds ran his family’s farm until he decided to run in 1954, for the Indiana House of Representatives. Then he went to the senate for three terms.

Mrs. Bayh died from breast cancer on April 24 1979; the Senator remarried two years later Miss Katherine “Kitty” Halpin on Christmas Eve, 1981 in St. Alban’s Episcopal Chapel at the National Cathedral in Washington, D. C. who outlives him as does a son from each marriage: Evan with Marvella and Christopher with Kitty.

Death

Senator Bayh died in Easton, Maryland on March 14, 2019 where he and Mrs. Bayh made their home. The birth time is based on his memory. His charts shows his wife’s and father’s strong influence (see the tenth house). A fan handle temperament type typical of popular politicos. His ascendant is 16 Aquarius, the Golden Gate Bridge, highlighting his ability to span both town, DC and country, Shirkieville.