Jack Thomas Brinkley (December 22, 1930 – January 23, 2019) was an American politician, educator and lawyer. He served as a Democratic member for the 3rd district of Georgia of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

Early life

Brinkley was born in Faceville, Georgia. After graduating from

Young Harris College Young Harris College is a private Methodist-affiliated liberal arts college in Young Harris, Georgia, United States. History Origins The school was founded in 1886 by Artemas Lester, a circuit-riding Methodist minister who wanted to pr ...

in 1949, Brinkley became a school teacher for several years before serving as a pilot in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

from 1951 to 1956. After his military service, Brinkley entered the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

School of Law in

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, graduated with a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree in 1959, and became a practicing lawyer in

Columbus, Georgia Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...

. Brinkley's political career consisted of one term in the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

from 1965 to 1966 and eight consecutive terms in the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

beginning in 1967 and ending in 1983 when he chose not to run for re-election. Following his retirement, he relocated to

. Brinkley died on January 23, 2019, at the age of 88.

References

1930 births 2019 deaths People from Columbus, Georgia Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia (U.S. state) lawyers United States Air Force officers University of Georgia alumni Young Harris College alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians {{GeorgiaUS-politician-stub