John F. Byrne Sr. (February 21, 1911 - August 6, 1965) was an American politician from

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

who served as a Democratic member of the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

for the

8th district 8 (eight) is the natural number following 7 and preceding 9. In mathematics 8 is: * a composite number, its proper divisors being , , and . It is twice 4 or four times 2. * a power of two, being 2 (two cubed), and is the first number of the ...

from 1951 to 1952.

Early life and education

Byrne was born in Philadelphia. He attended St. Joseph's Preparatory School and received a business degree from

La Salle College La Salle College (LSC) (, Demonym: Lasallian) is a boys' secondary school in Hong Kong. It was established in 1932 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Roman Catholic religious teaching order founded by St. John Bapti ...

Career

He worked as a real estate and insurance broker, and was a business partner and friend of

William J. Green Jr. William Joseph Green Jr. (March 5, 1910 – December 21, 1963) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography William J. Green was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish immigrants. ...

, a Philadelphia congressman and Democratic party leader. In 1950, Byrne was elected to the

for the

and served from 1951 to 1952. The following year, he ran for a seat on the

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council, the legislative body of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consists of ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large. The council president is elected by the members from among their number. Each ...

against incumbent

Clarence K. Crossan Clarence Kennedy Crossan (April 16, 1876 – September 25, 1960) was a Philadelphia Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who served for 28 years on the Philadelphia City Council. Crossan was born in Philadelphia's Fox Chase, Phi ...

. Byrne won

the election ''The Election'' () is a political drama series produced by Hong Kong Television Network (HKTV). With a budget of HK$15 million, filming started in July 2014 and wrapped up on 28 October 2014. Popularly voted to be the inaugural drama of ...

, representing

Northeast Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Northeast and the Great Northeast, is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of between 300,000 and 450,000, depending ...

's 10th district, as the Democrats took control of the city government for the first time in 67 years. He was re-elected to city council in 1955, this time winning one of five at-large seats. The following year, Byrne resigned his seat when Governor

George M. Leader George Michael Leader (January 17, 1918 – May 9, 2013) was an American politician. He served as the 36th governor of Pennsylvania from January 18, 1955, until January 20, 1959. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and a native of York Count ...

appointed him to a seat on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission. In 1963, he and fellow Councilman

Victor E. Moore Victor Edward Moore (November 13, 1897 – August 22, 1982) was a Philadelphia businessman and Democratic politician. He served three terms on the Philadelphia City Council and as chairman of the Philadelphia Gas Works. Early life Moore was bor ...

were indicted for perjury during a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

investigation of city government, but were both acquitted. His term on the Turnpike Commission expired in June 1965; he was still serving until a successor was appointed when he died of a heart attack that August. His son, John F. Byrne, Jr., later served in the state senate.

Legacy

The John F. Byrne golf course in

was renamed in honor of Byrne.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, John F. Sr. 1911 births 1965 deaths 20th-century American legislators La Salle University alumni Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Philadelphia City Council members Politicians from Philadelphia St. Joseph's Preparatory School alumni 20th-century Pennsylvania politicians