Beverly Byron

Who is Beverly Byron?

Beverly Barton Butcher Byron, a Democrat, was a U.S. Congresswoman who represented the 6th congressional district of Maryland from January 3, 1979, to January 3, 1993.

Byron was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She attended the National Cathedral School for Girls in Washington, D.C. Byron earned a two-year degree from Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, and after graduation she became involved in several nonprofit groups and in fundraising for the Democratic Party. She was elected to Congress to replace her husband, Representative Goodloe Byron, who died on October 11, 1978. While in Congress she served on the House Armed Services Committee, the Interior and Insular Affairs Committee, and the House Select Committee on Aging. She was the only woman ever to fly aboard the SR-71 Blackbird of the USAF, on which she flew as a VIP in November 1985.

Like her husband, Byron was a conservative Democrat. She was defeated in the 1992 Democratic primary by a somewhat more liberal challenger, State Delegate Thomas Hattery. Hattery went on to lose to Republican Roscoe Bartlett in the general election. Bartlett had lost to Byron in the 1982 election.

Beverly Byron is the daughter-in-law of William D. Byron and Katharine E. Byron, who both represented Maryland's 6th district in 1939–1941 and 1941–1943, respectively.