John McCain

Table of Contents

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images

John McCain after his plane was shot down during the Vietnam War

results of the American presidential election, 2008

John McCain shortly after his release from a Vietnamese prison, April 24, 1973.

Todd and Sarah Palin (couple at left) and Cindy and John McCain at the conclusion of the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., Sept. 5, 2008.

For Students

John McCain summary

Read Next

Close up of a hand placing a ballot in a ballot box. Election vote voter voting

Have Any U.S. Presidents Decided Not to Run For a Second Term?

What State Is Washington, D.C. In?

The United States Supreme Court building, Washington, D.C.

14 Questions About Government in the United States Answered

Bar graph of the United States Death Toll during major events. Infogram chart.

U.S. Death Toll During Major Events

The Battle of New Orleans, by E. Percy Moran, c. 1910. Andrew Jackson, War of 1812.

26 Decade-Defining Events in U.S. History

Discover

Groups of depositors in front of the closed American Union Bank, New York City. April 26, 1932. Great Depression run on bank crowd

Causes of the Great Depression

Person paying with a credit card using a credit card terminal. Cashless payment, credit card reader

What Is a Cashless Society and How Does It Work?

General Pershing's troops moving into Mexico in 1917 during World War I.

Timeline of World War I

An ancient egyptian hieroglyphic painted carving showing the falcon headed god Horus seated on a throne and holding a golden fly whisk. Before him are the Pharoah Seti and the goddess Isis. Interior wall of the temple to Osiris at Abydos, Egypt.

11 Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

Solar Eclipse, Eclipse, Solar Flare, Outer Space, Astronomy

What Causes Lunar and Solar Eclipses?

Artist interpretation of a Space meteoroid impact. Meteor impact. Asteroid, End of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Planet Earth, Doomsday Predictions, comet

10 Failed Doomsday Predictions

A Factory Interior, watercolor, pen and gray ink, graphite, and white goache on wove paper by unknown artist, c. 1871-91; in the Yale Center for British Art. Industrial Revolution England

Inventors and Inventions of the Industrial Revolution

History & Society

John McCain

United States senator

Also known as: John Sidney McCain III

Written by Sean Wilentz

Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Apr 12, 2024 • Article History

John McCain

See all media

Category: History & Society

In full:: John Sidney McCain III

Born:: August 29, 1936, Panama Canal Zone

Died:: August 25, 2018, Cornville, Arizona, U.S. (aged 81)

Title / Office:: United States Senate (1987-2018), United States

Political Affiliation:: Republican Party

Awards And Honors:: Purple Heart; Legion of Merit; Presidential Medal of Freedom (2022)

On the Web:: BBC News - The key moments in John McCain's life (Mar. 29, 2024)

See all related content →

Recent News

Apr. 12, 2024, 7:38 PM ET (AP)

A near-total ban on abortion has supercharged the political dynamics of Arizona, a key swing state

Mar. 27, 2024, 10:37 PM ET (AP)

Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, Democrats’ VP pick in 2000, dead at 82

John McCain (born August 29, 1936, Panama Canal Zone—died August 25, 2018, Cornville, Arizona, U.S.) U.S. senator who was the Republican Party’s nominee for president in 2008 but was defeated by Barack Obama. McCain represented Arizona in the U.S. House of Representatives (1983–87) before being elected to the U.S. Senate (1987–2018). Although a self-described conservative “foot soldier in the Reagan revolution,” McCain clashed with his party’s right wing on a wide range of issues. Long a favourite of reporters, who admired what they saw as his directness, he garnered a reputation as a political maverick. McCain had strong Southern roots–—his ...(100 of 1972 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.