Photo: U.S. Senate Photographic Studio - Renee Bouchard / Public domain (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Russ Feingold left a mark on me with one act above all: in the raw weeks after 9/11, he was the lone U.S. senator to vote against the Patriot Act. When fear and anger push everyone in one direction, standing alone on principle takes a kind of courage most of us never have to test. A Janesville native, Rhodes Scholar, lawyer and three-term senator, his awards — a Profile in Courage Award, a James Madison Award — read like a record of conviction. In a world where staying quiet is always the easier choice, Feingold chose to stand up. I find that genuinely admirable.
Overview
Russell Dana Feingold ( FYNE-gold; born March 2, 1953) is an American lawyer, diplomat, and progressive Democratic politician from Dane County, Wisconsin. He served three terms as a United States senator, representing Wisconsin from 1993 to 2011. In the U.S. Senate, Feingold was known for being the only U.S. senator to vote against the Patriot Act, in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Russ Feingold
- Name (Japanese)
- ラス・ファインゴールド
- Reading
- らす・ふぁいんごーるど
- Born
- March 2, 1953 (age 73)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Snake
- Origin
- Janesville, Wisconsin, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- politician / lawyer / visiting professor / university teacher
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Joseph A. Craig High School
- University
- University of Wisconsin–Madison
Awards & achievements
- 2011 Four Freedoms Award – Freedom Medal
- 1999 Profile in Courage Award
- 2008 James Madison Award
- 1975 Rhodes Scholarship
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Politician — see all → · Lawyer — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.