Amory Houghton, Jr.

A man who represented Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties in Congress for parts of three different decades has passed away.

Amory “Amo” Houghton Jr., led Corning Glass Works for nearly 20 years and later served nine terms as a member of Congress, died Wednesday in Corning. He was 93.

Houghton is the only former chief executive of a Fortune 500 Company ever elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Better known as “Amo,” he attended St Paul’s School in Concord, N.H., Harvard College and the Harvard Business School. He was a PFC in the US Marine Corps during the final year of World War II.

Houghton joined Corning in 1952 as a junior process engineer, became president in 1961 and chairman and chief executive officer in 1964. During his tenure, sales and income increased more than five fold and employment grew to over 29,000 worldwide. Passionately committed to research and development, he shepherded such innovations as Corning Ware, Corelle Dinnerware, automotive catalytic converters, specialized flat glass used now on smart phones and panels, and optical fiber — which revolutionized the telecommunications industry and ushered in the creation of the Internet.

He was a member of the Board of Directors of BF Goodrich, Citibank, Genentech, IBM, Owens Corning, New York Telephone and The Procter and Gamble Company. He was a member of The Business Council and co-founded the Labor/Industry Coalition for International Trade. He served as president of the Board of Trustees at St Paul’s School and The Episcopal Theological Seminary and was a two time overseer of Harvard University. He served as a trustee of the Brookings Institute and the Corning Museum of Glass. He stepped down as CEO of Corning in 1983 and was elected to Congress three years later.

Houghton was elected to Congress in 1986. He represented New York’s 34th district which included all of Allegany, Chautauqua, Chemung, Schuyler, Steuben, Yates counties and parts of Cattaraugus and Tompkins counties.

Following redistricting, from 1993 to 2003, he represented New York’s 31st congressional district. The new district included all of Chautauqua and Cattaraugus counties, along with other southern tier counties.

In 2003, Houghton continued to represent the southern tier, including Cattaraugus County, but no longer represented Chautauqua County, which was added to the 27th District. He retired at the end of 2004.

During his 18-year career in Washington, he served on the Committee on Foreign Affairs, Budget and Ways and Means.

U.S. Rep. Tom Reed, R-Corning, said the Reed and Houghton family “goes back generations,” noting that his grandfather bounced Amo on his knee working for the Houghton family more than 90 years ago.

“However, our relationship with Amo goes even deeper than that,” Reed said in a statement. “Amo was a classmate of my father and mother, but more importantly, Amo was my mentor and friend.

“Washington still has much to learn from his legacy. A legacy of common sense governing through respected bipartisan friendships and political civility. A legacy where our country comes first and our political party a distant second. Our nation has lost a true hero, and our hometown of Corning has lost a great ambassador. He will be missed by all.”