Peter H. Dominick

Peter Hoyt Dominick (July 7, 1915 – March 18, 1981) was an American diplomat, politician and lawyer from Colorado. A member of the Republican Party, he served in the United States Senate from 1963 to 1975. His uncle, Howard Alexander Smith, was a U.S. Senator from New Jersey from 1944 to 1959. Life and career Born in Stamford, Connecticut on July 7, 1915, Dominick graduated from St. Mark's School in 1933, from Yale University in 1937 as a member of Scroll and Key, and Yale Law School in 1940. He practiced law in New York City with the law firm Carter, Ledyard and Milburn from 1940 until 1942. Dominick then joined the United States Army Air Corps as an aviation cadet at the outset of American fighting in World War II. He served until his separation from military service in 1945, as a captain. He briefly recommenced his legal practice in New York City in 1946, before moving that same year to Denver, Colorado, where he continued to practice law, eventually becoming a founding partner of the law firm Holland & Hart. Colorado House of Representative Dominick entered politics when he was elected as a Republican to the Colorado House of Representatives, where he served from 1957 to 1961. Congress In 1960, he made a successful run for the United States House of Representatives, defeating incumbent freshman Democrat Byron L. Johnson, and he abandoned his law career in 1961.