Alan Simpson (American politician)
A blunt and witty Wyoming senator who became a central figure in budget battles and later a crusader for bipartisan compromise on America's fiscal future.
1931–2025 (age 94)·American politician·Birthday: September 2·The Silent Generation
Biography
Alan Simpson, son of Wyoming governor and senator Milward Simpson, carved his own path in the Senate. Elected in 1978, he served as Republican Whip, a pragmatic conservative and master of the acerbic one-liner. He worked across the aisle on the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. After retiring, President Obama tapped him to co-chair the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform with Democrat Erskine Bowles. The Simpson-Bowles plan, though never enacted, became a touchstone for deficit reduction. Simpson warned of fiscal calamity and believed compromise was a governing necessity, not a dirty word.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Alan was born in 1931, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Alan Was Born
The biggest hits of 1931
#1 Movie
Frankenstein
Best Picture
Cimarron
Alan's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1931Born
The Empire State Building opens as the world's tallest
Gas: $0.17/galPresident: Herbert Hoover"Minnie the Moocher" — Cab CallowayBest Picture: Cimarron
1936Started school
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
1944Became a teenager
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1947Could drive
India gains independence; the Dead Sea Scrolls found
Gas: $0.23/galHome: $6,600Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Near You" — Francis CraigBest Picture: Gentleman's Agreement
1949Could vote
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1952Turned 21
Queen Elizabeth II ascends the throne
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,350Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Blue Tango" — Leroy AndersonBest Picture: The Greatest Show on Earth
1961Turned 30
Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human in space
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $12,500Min wage: $1.15/hrPresident: John F. Kennedy"Tossin' and Turnin'" — Bobby LewisBest Picture: West Side Story
1971Turned 40
Voting age lowered to 18 in the US
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $18,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Joy to the World" — Three Dog NightBest Picture: The French Connection
1981Turned 50
MTV launches; first Space Shuttle flight; AIDS identified
Gas: $1.31/galHome: $52,300Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Bette Davis Eyes" — Kim CarnesBest Picture: Chariots of Fire
1991Turned 60
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2001Turned 70
September 11 attacks transform the world
Gas: $1.46/galHome: $126,400Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Hanging by a Moment" — LifehouseBest Picture: A Beautiful Mind
2011Turned 80
Osama bin Laden killed; Arab Spring sweeps the Middle East
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $138,400Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Rolling in the Deep" — AdeleBest Picture: The Artist
2025Died at 94
AI agents go mainstream
Gas: $3.10/galHome: $385,000Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"APT." — Rose & Bruno Mars
Key Achievements
- Served as the Republican Whip in the U.S. Senate from 1985 to 1995, a key leadership role managing party strategy.
- Co-chaired the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which produced a widely referenced deficit reduction plan in 2010.
- Was a principal co-sponsor of the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986, a major overhaul of U.S. immigration law.
- Served three terms as a United States Senator from Wyoming, from 1979 to 1997.
Did You Know?
He was a U.S. Army artillery officer during the Korean War, though he served in Germany.
Simpson was a close friend of former President George H.W. Bush and delivered a memorable eulogy at his funeral.
He taught at the University of Wyoming and Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government after leaving the Senate.
His mother, Lorna Simpson, was the first woman to serve as president of the Wyoming State Senate.
“"If you have integrity, nothing else matters. If you don't have integrity, nothing else matters."”
