Born on January 18, 1951, Elijah Eugene Cummings was an American politician and member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Maryland’s 7th congressional district.
The son of a sharecropper and the third child of seven children, he graduated from Baltimore City College in 1969 with honors.
He attended Howard University in Washington D.C. and served in a host of high profile positions including student government president.
His journey into politics began after graduating from law school at the University of Maryland, receiving his J.D. in 1976 – he was admitted to the Maryland Bar later that year. He practiced law for 19 years before first being elected to the House in the 1996 elections.
He served for 14 years in the Maryland House of Delegates and became very influential in politics in the U.S.
In the Maryland General Assembly, he served as Chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland and was the first African American in Maryland history to be named Speaker Pro Tempore, the second-highest position in the House of Delegates.
As chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, he instigated several investigations into the Trump administration, including probes in 2019 relating to Trump’s family members serving while in the White House.
He sadly passed on Thursday, October 17, 2019 due to “complications concerning long-standing health challenges” his office said.
We celebrate his legacy with 11 of his famous quotes:
