Stewart Udall was born in Denver, Colorado on May 23, 1909. During his second year as a student at the University of Colorado, he became acquainted with a Quaker friend, Wayne Aspinall, who was a member of the faculty and head of the political science department. The two became close friends and, after graduating from the university in 1930, Udall decided to study law at Yale instead of pursuing a career in business. At Yale, Udall became a member of the secret society Psi Upsilon
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He also met and married Pamela Myers. In 1932 he graduated from Yale Law School and joined his father's law firm in Denver. Two years later he was elected district attorney of Denver County by a wide margin.
In 1943 he was elected to the United States Congress from Colorado's 5th Congressional District as a Democrat. During his short stint in Congress, Udall was elected chairman of the House Rules Committee and later served on the House Interior Committee.