James George Donovan (December 15, 1898 – April 6, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, serving three 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 ...

from 1951 to 1957.

Biography

Donovan was born on December 15, 1898, in

Clinton, Massachusetts Clinton is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 15,428 at the 2020 census. For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Clinton, please see the article Clinton (CDP), Massach ...

. He attended the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...

from 1916 to 1917. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in 1922. He graduated from Columbia Law School in 1924. Active in politics as a

Tammany Hall Tammany Hall, also known as the Society of St. Tammany, the Sons of St. Tammany, or the Columbian Order, was a New York City political organization founded in 1786 and incorporated on May 12, 1789 as the Tammany Society. It became the main loc ...

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he was

Undersheriff An undersheriff (or under-sheriff) is an office derived from ancient English custom that remains in, among other places, England and Wales and the United States, though performing different functions. United States In American law enforcement, t ...

New York County Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

from 1934 to 1941.

Political career

He was a member of the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature; the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Its members are elected to two-year terms; there are no term limits. There are 63 seats in the Senate. Partisan com ...

(16th D.) in 1943 and 1944.

Congress

In an effort to unseat American Labor Party congressman Vito Marcantonio,

Jesse Walker Jesse Walker (born September 4, 1970) is books editor of ''Reason'' magazine. The University of Michigan alumnus has written the books ''The United States of Paranoia: A Conspiracy Theory'' (HarperCollins, 2013) and ''Rebels on the Air: An Alter ...

''Third Parties: A Beginner's Guide"
"Reason.com Hit & Run Blog'', March 17, 2016 in 1950, he ran for Congress on both the Democratic and Republican party ballot lines. He was elected to the 82nd Congress, and won reelection to the 83rd and 84th United States Congresses, holding office from January 3, 1951, to January 3, 1957. In 1956, he ran unsuccessfully for reelection as a Republican after having been denied renomination by

, and was defeated by Alfred E. Santangelo.

Later career and death

After leaving Congress, in 1957 Donovan was New York State Director of the Federal Housing Administration. He then resumed practicing law, and maintained an office in New York City until retiring in 1965. He died on April 6, 1987, in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Donovan, James G. 1898 births 1987 deaths People from Clinton, Massachusetts Harvard University alumni Columbia Law School alumni Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) Sheriffs of New York County, New York Burials at Woodlawn Cemetery (Bronx, New York) 20th-century American politicians