(born Jan. 1, 1909, Phoenix, Airz., U.S.—died May 29, 1998, Paradise Valley, Ariz.) U.S. senator. He headed the family department-store business from 1937, and during World War II he was a U.S. Air Force pilot (1941–45).
A Republican, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1952, and he quickly established himself as a strong conservative, calling for a harsh diplomatic stance toward the Soviet Union, opposing arms-control negotiations with that country, and accusing the Democrats of creating a quasi-socialist state at home. In 1964 he won the Republican nomination for president but lost the election to Democratic Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson largely because of popular fears that Goldwater would provoke a nuclear war with the Soviets. Returning to the Senate (1969–87), he helped persuade Richard Nixon to resign in 1974. Goldwater moderated many of his views in later years, and he became a symbol of high-minded conservatism.
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