- Turned against the Vietnam War after a student demonstrator asked him if he had ever been briefed by the other side of the issue. O'Neill admitted he had not, and after talking with soldiers, sailors, admirals, and CIA agents, who all told him the war could not be won, he followed his conscience.
- When John F. Kennedy was president, he made sure that Tip O'Neill was always invited to all the parties at the White House.
- Before being elected Speaker of the House of Representatives in 1977, Tip O'Neill was House Majority Whip from 1971-1973, and House Majority Leader from 1973-1977.
- As a teenager, he had a job as a grounds-keeper at Harvard University, for which he was paid 17 cents an hour.
- Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives (1977-1987).
- Children: Thomas III, Rosemary, Christopher, Michael, and Susan.
- In his yearbook, he was elected "Class Caveman".
- Learned politics from Boston mayor James Michael Curley.
- U.S. Representative from Massachusetts (1953-1987).
- B.A., Boston College (1936). A library, a scholarship fund and a faculty position are named after O'Neill. His son, Thomas III, is a College Trustee.
- Books: Man of the House (1987); All Politics is Local--And Other Rules of the Game (1993).
- Got his nickname from a 19th Century baseball player named James Edward "Tip" O'Neill, an outfielder from Woodstock, Ontario, Canada who played mainly for the St. Louis Brown Stockings (now the St. Louis Cardinals).
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