John Joseph Boyle was the 19th

Public Printer of the United States The Public Printer of the United States was the head of the United States Government Publishing Office (GPO). Pursuant to , this officer was nominated by the President of the United States and approved by the United States Senate. In December 2014, ...

, the head of the

U.S. Government Printing Office The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...

now the Government Publishing Office (GPO), which produces and distributes information products for all branches of the

U.S. Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...

Early life

Boyle was born January 19, 1919, in

Honesdale Honesdale is a borough in and the county seat of Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 4,458 at the time of the 2020 census. Honesdale is located northeast of Scranton in a rural area that provides many recrea ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

.John J. Boyle, letter to

Howard W. Cannon Howard Walter Cannon (January 26, 1912 – March 5, 2002) was an American politician from Nevada. Elected to the first of four consecutive terms in 1958, he served in the United States Senate from 1959 to 1983. He was a member of the Democratic ...

, ''reprinted in He graduated from Hawley High School in

Hawley, Pennsylvania Hawley is a borough on the Lackawaxen River in Wayne County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough's population was 1,229 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History The borough was named for Irad Hawley, first president of the Penn ...

, in 1936; he did not obtain a college degree. After high school, he worked in a print shop and for a local weekly newspaper. He joined 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 ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, serving in the First Armored Division. He served in the North African campaign, where he was captured by spending two and a half years in German prison camps. After the end of the war, he resumed his printing career, working for the O'Brana Press and the

Scranton Tribune ''The Scranton Times-Tribune'' is a morning newspaper serving the Scranton, Pennsylvania, area. It is the flagship title of Times-Shamrock Communications and has been run by three generations of the Lynett-Haggerty family. On Sundays, the paper ...

Scranton Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U ...

in 1945, and then in a large printing plant for the publisher Haddon Craftsmen from 1945 to 1952.

Government Printing Office career

In 1952, Public Printer Thomas F. McCormick hired Boyle to work in the Government Printing Office as a

proofreader Proofreading is the reading of a galley proof or an electronic copy of a publication to find and correct reproduction errors of text or art. Proofreading is the final step in the editorial cycle before publication. Professional Traditional m ...

. He rose through the ranks, becoming deputy production manager for electronics and then production manager, and establishing the GPO's Electronic Photocomposition Division. In 1973, he was named Deputy Public Printer, the GPO's number-two position. Upon McCormick's resignation, President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

nominated Boyle to be Public Printer of the United States. Boyle was confirmed by the Senate on October 27, and sworn in on November 1. He was the first Public Printer to rise through the ranks of agency craftsmen. Boyle's term as Public Printer was marked by an acceleration of the GPO's computerization and electronic publication, and movement from manual metal typesetting to photocomposition. During his term, most congressional committee hearing proceedings were photocomposed, and all congressional bill printing had been converted to being electronically processed. Boyle retired from the GPO February 29, 1980.

Death

Boyle died from a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

on December 29, 2003, at the Holy Cross Rehabilitation & Nursing Center in Silver Spring,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. He was 84 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, John J. 1919 births 2003 deaths American printers American prisoners of war in World War II Employees of the United States Congress United States Government Publishing Office Carter administration personnel Pennsylvania Democrats People from Honesdale, Pennsylvania United States Army personnel of World War II World War II prisoners of war held by Germany