John Anthony Danaher (January 9, 1899 – September 22, 1990) was a
United States senator from
Connecticut, and a
United States circuit judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Danaher defeated incumbent Senator
Augustine Lonergan
Augustine Lonergan (May 20, 1874October 18, 1947) was a U.S. Senator and Representative from Connecticut. He was a member of the Democratic Party. He served as a senator from 1933 to 1939.
Biography
Lonergan was born in Thompson, Connecticut, ...
in the
1938 United States Senate election in Connecticut
The 1938 United States Senate election in Connecticut was held on November 8, 1938.
Incumbent Senator Augustine Lonergan ran for a second term in office but was defeated by Republican John A. Danaher. Socialist candidate Bellani Trombley placed ...
.
Education and career
Born on January 9, 1899, in
Meriden,
New Haven County
New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's top 5 largest cities, ...
,
Connecticut, Danaher attended the local schools. He received an
Artium Baccalaureus
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
degree in 1920 from
Yale University and then attended
Yale Law School, serving as a lieutenant in the
United States Army in 1918 as a member of the Student's Army Training Corps and in the Officers' Reserve Corps. He was admitted to the bar in 1922. He entered private practice in
Hartford,
Connecticut and later
Washington, D.C. from 1922 to 1953. He served as an
Assistant United States Attorney
An assistant United States attorney (AUSA) is an official career civil service position in the U.S. Department of Justice composed of lawyers working under the U.S. Attorney of each U.S. federal judicial district. They represent the federal gove ...
for the District of Connecticut from 1922 to 1934. He was Secretary of State for the State of Connecticut and a member of the State Board of Finance and Control from 1933 to 1935. He was a
Republican United States Senator from Connecticut from January 3, 1939 to January 3, 1945, and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1944. He was counsel to the
National Republican Senatorial Committee from 1946 to 1953.
Federal judicial service
Danaher received a
recess appointment from President
Dwight D. Eisenhower on October 1, 1953, to a seat on the
United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated by Judge
James McPherson Proctor
James McPherson Proctor (September 4, 1882 – September 17, 1953) was a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and previously was an associate justice o ...
, taking the oath of office on November 20, 1953. He was nominated to the same position by President Eisenhower on January 11, 1954. He was confirmed by the
United States Senate on March 30, 1954, and received his commission on March 31, 1954. He assumed
senior status on January 22, 1969. After taking senior status, he served part time with the
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. He took inactive senior status in 1980. His service terminated on September 22, 1990, due to his death in
West Hartford, Connecticut, where he had resided since 1969. He was interred at the Sacred Heart Cemetery in Meriden.
Family
Danher's grandson,
John A. Danaher III
John A. Danaher III (born August 22, 1950) is a Connecticut Superior Court Judge sitting in Litchfield, Connecticut. Between March 5, 2007, and May 5, 2010, he served as the Commissioner of the State of Connecticut Department of Public Safety. ...
, is a Superior Court Judge who currently sits in
Litchfield, Connecticut.
References
Sources
*
External links
* John Anthony Danaher papers (MS 165). Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danaher, John A.
Judges of the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
United States court of appeals judges appointed by Dwight D. Eisenhower
20th-century American judges
Politicians from Hartford, Connecticut
People from Washington, D.C.
1899 births
1990 deaths
Secretaries of the State of Connecticut
Yale Law School alumni
United States Attorneys for the District of Connecticut
Republican Party United States senators from Connecticut
Connecticut Republicans
Assistant United States Attorneys