Former Sen. Birch Bayh of Indiana, an accomplished legislator who left his imprint on the U.S. Constitution and the world of sports, has died.
Bayh, who was also the father of another senator, was 91.
During his three terms in the Senate, the Indiana Democrat was one of the main architects of the 25th and 26th amendments to the Constitution, as well as the unsuccessful Equal Rights Amendment. "Senator Bayh has the distinct honor of being the only American since the Founders to draft multiple amendments to the Constitution," the Fordham Law Review said in 2011.
He was also co-author of Title IX, a 1972 education amendment that required colleges to end quotas for women in higher education; it gave women equal opportunity to participate in sports, vastly altering the landscape of college, professional and Olympic athletics. He also once pulled Sen. Ted Kennedy to safety from a crashed plane.
“Birch had a knack for identifying major themes and taking action,“ Fred Nation, his former press secretary, said.
