Speaker Newt Gingrich
Biography
Newt Gingrich was born in 1943 in Dauphin, Pennsylvania. Gingrich went to college at Emory, got a Ph.D. in European history at Tulane, and then in 1970 started teaching at West Georgia College in Carrollton. He ran for Congress in 1974 in a still mostly rural district south and west of Georgia, challenging the conservative Democratic incumbent as unethical. He lost narrowly, ran again in 1976 and lost again as Jimmy Carter swept rural Georgia. Gingrich ran again and won in 1978. In March 1989, Gingrich ran for whip and won 87-85. He became Speaker of the House in 1995 after the Republicans gained control of the House and served in that position until 1999. Since leaving office, Gingrich has been a senior fellow at the think tank American Enterprise Institute, and is listed as a contributor by Fox News Channel. (1998 Almanac of American Politics).