James Randolph Olin (February 28, 1920 – July 29, 2006) was an American politician from the U.S. state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. From 1983 to 1993, Olin, a

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 ...

, served in 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 ...

for Virginia's 6th congressional district.

Early life and education

Olin was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, the grandson of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrants, and raised in Kenilworth, Illinois. He attended Deep Springs College, before moving on to

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

, from which he earned an

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems which use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

degree in 1943. Then, until 1946, Olin served in the Signal Corps of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

Politics

Olin, a

, made his first bid for political office in 1953, when he became Rotterdam, New York supervisor and served on the

Schenectady County Schenectady County () is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 158,061. The county seat is Schenectady, New York, Schenectady. The ...

board of supervisors. For 35 years until retiring in January 1982, Olin worked in

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...

(GE) as corporate vice president and general manager of industrial electronics. Over the years, Olin's job at GE took him to Schenectady,

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

, and

Salem, Virginia Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combin ...

. In 1982, Olin was elected to represent the 6th district of Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first Democrat to hold this seat since 1953. The 6th, stretching from Roanoke through the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the eastern front of the Ridge- ...

, had been one of the first areas of Virginia to turn Republican. The district's six-term Republican incumbent,

M. Caldwell Butler Manley Caldwell Butler (June 2, 1925 – July 28, 2014) was an American lawyer and politician widely admired for his integrity, bipartisanship and courage. A native of Roanoke, Butler served his hometown and wider community first as a member ...

, hadn't even faced major-party opposition since 1974. However, Olin won a narrow victory. Over the next two years, Olin worked this vast district well, and held onto his seat in 1984 even as

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

carried the district in a landslide. He would never face another close race again, easily defeating Republican challengers in 1986 and 1988 and only facing an independent in 1990. While in the House, Olin was considered to be a moderate member of the state's delegation. In 1990, he was one of the only three Democrats in the House to vote against

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 19 ...

. That same year, he clashed with President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

over his budget proposals. As a member of the

United States House Committee on Agriculture The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction over federal agriculture policy and oversight of s ...

, Olin advocated reducing milk price subsidies. In 1991, he opposed the Persian Gulf War. Olin did not run for a sixth term in 1992. That same year he received an honorary

LLD Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation#Plural forms, abbrev ...

from

Washington and Lee University , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingto ...

. His preferred choice to replace him as the Democratic nominee lost at the district convention to Stephen Musselwhite, who was then handily defeated by Republican Bob Goodlatte, a former aide to Butler. Proving just how Republican this district was, no Democrat has crossed the 40 percent mark in the district since Olin left office. He died at age 86 in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is the county seat of Albemarle County, which surrounds the city, though the two are separate legal entities. It is named after Queen Ch ...

Electoral history

* 1982: elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 51% of the vote, defeating Republican Kevin Grey Miller * 1984: re-elected with 54% of the vote, defeating Republican

Ray L. Garland Ray Lucian Garland (born May 20, 1934) is an American businessman and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly representing Roanoke, Virginia, Roanoke, and who later wrote ...

* 1986: re-elected with 70% of the vote, defeating Republican Flo Neher Traywick * 1988: re-elected with 64% of the vote, defeating Republican Charles E. Judd * 1990: re-elected with 84% of the vote, defeating Independent Gerald E. Berg

Personal life

Olin married Phyllis Olin and had five children with her: Richard, Thomas, Kathy (Milliken), James, and Trina (Santry). The Olin family settled in Roanoke, Virginia in 1968 and relocated to

in 2003. Jim and Phyllis Olin had eleven grandchildren: Jennifer Milliken Bartlett, Marc Dentico-Olin, Scott Milliken, Julia Milliken, John Olin, Chad Olin, Christine Milliken, Hannah Olin, Arthur Santry IV, Alexa Santry, and Richard Santry. They also had two great-grandsons: Aidan Bartlett and Nathan Bartlett as of 2012.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olin, Jim 1920 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American politicians American electronics engineers United States Army personnel of World War II American people of Swedish descent Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Deep Springs College alumni General Electric employees People from Kenilworth, Illinois People from Rotterdam, New York Politicians from Charlottesville, Virginia Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Erie, Pennsylvania Politicians from Roanoke, Virginia United States Army soldiers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Engineers from New York (state) Engineers from Virginia Engineers from Pennsylvania Engineers from Illinois 20th-century American engineers