William Lester Armstrong Jr. (March 16, 1937 – July 5, 2016) was an American businessman, administrator, and politician. He was a member of the Republican Party and served as a United States representative and Senator from Colorado. Early life and career Armstrong was born March 16, 1937, in Fremont, Nebraska, and graduated from Lincoln Northeast High School. He was the son of William Lester Armstrong and Dorothy Steen Armstrong. His maternal grandfather was a Presbyterian minister and his great-great-uncle, Alexander Majors, was the co-founder of the Pony Express, the Central Overland California, and Pike's Peak Express Company. Professional career Armstrong became fascinated as a child with radio, and at the age of eleven, he interviewed with a local radio station in Fremont and was given his own show on weekends to practice his DJ skills. After high school, he met Todd Storz, known as the father of the Top 40 radio format. He hired Armstrong at KOWH in Omaha, Nebraska, then transferred him to WTIX in New Orleans, where he became America's first teenage Top 40 disc jockey. While there, he briefly attended Tulane University, but two years later, in 1956, he moved to Minneapolis to work at WDGY. There he took classes at the University of Minnesota but did not earn a degree. Within a few months, he was appointed Program Director at the radio station, at the age of 20. He then chose to enlist in the Colorado Army National Guard from 1957 to 1963, where he became a First Lieutenant. After returning from duty at age 22 in 1959, Armstrong bought radio station KOSI-AM in Aurora, Colorado, which became KEZW in 1981. Armstrong founded KOSI-FM in 1968 before selling both the KOSI-AM and KOSI-FM stations 25 years later. He also was president of Ambassador Media, which owned television station KPVI in Pocatello, Idaho and satellite stations KKVI in Twin Falls, Idaho and KJVI in Jackson, Wyoming. Political career In 1962, Armstrong married Ellen M. Eaton. The same year, he became the (at the time) youngest person ever elected to the Colorado House of Representatives, where he served one term. He then served in the Colorado State Senate from 1964 to 1972, including two terms as President of the Senate. In 1972, Armstrong was elected to the U.S. Congress from the new fifth district. He was reelected to the 94th and 95th Congresses. In 1978, Armstrong was elected