Bayh, Birch Evans, Jr. [key], 1928–2019, U.S. politician, b. Terre Haute, Ind., grad. Indiana Univ. law school (1960). A Democrat, Bayh served (1954–62) in the Indiana legislature, then (1963–81) in the U.S. Senate; he failed to win reelection in 1980. He coauthored Title IX, which guarantees women equal access to education in institutions receiving federal funds, and cosponsored the Bayh-Dole Act (1980), which allowed academic researchers funded by the government to profit from their discoveries and helped to create the biotechnology industry. He was the architect of the 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which clarifed the line of presidential succession, and of the 26th, which lowered the voting age to 18. Bayh also was a sponsor of a failed amendment to abolish the electoral college and the unsuccessful Equal Rights Amendment. After leaving the Senate, Bayh practised law in Washington, D.C. Evan Bayh, 1955–, his son, was governor of Indiana (1989–97) and U.S. senator (1999–2011).
See R. Blaemire, Birch Bayh: Making a Difference (2019).
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