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Clarence William (Bill) Nelson is a Senator from Florida. Born in Miami, FL, in 1942, he attended Brevard County public schools and graduated from Melbourne High School in 1960. He earned his B.A. from Yale University in 1965 and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1968. He was admitted to the Florida bar in 1968 and commenced practice in Melbourne in 1970. He served in United States Army Reserve from 1965-1971, and the United States Army active duty from 1968-1970, achieving rank of captain. He was a legislative assistant to Governor Reubin Askew in 1971 and elected to Florida State house of representatives in 1972 and reelected in 1974 and 1976. He was elected as a Democrat to the 96th and to the five succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1979-January 3, 1991); was a candidate for nomination for governor of Florida in 1990. He was a crewmember on the twenty-fourth flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia, January 12-18, 1986; the Florida treasurer and insurance commissioner from 1995-2000; and elected to the United States Senate in 2000 for the term commencing January 3, 2001. He served as chair, Special Committee on Aging (113th Congress).
