Democratic party Politician who served as a United States Senator from Washington from 1944 to 1981. He proposed the Chinese Exclusion Repeal Act of 1943 which, for the first time since 1882, allowed Chinese immigration to the United States and permitted some Chinese immigrants already residing in the country to become naturalized citizens.
After studying law at the University of Washington, he entered politics as a member of the Washington State Legislature.
He helped Poon Lim, a Chinese Sailor who survived 133 days alone at sea in 1942, to gain American citizenship.
He was orphaned at age two and was raised by his adoptive parents, william G. and Emma Magnuson.
He played poker in the White House with both Harry Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson.
