John J. O'Connell (April 30, 1919 – March 24, 1998) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

who served as the 13th Attorney General of Washington from 1957 to 1969.

Early life and education

O'Connell was born and raised in

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

. He earned a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

from the

Gonzaga University School of Law The Gonzaga University School of Law (also known as Gonzaga Law or GU Law) is the professional school for the study of law at Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. Established in 1912, the Jesuit-affiliated law school has been fully accredi ...

and served as a captain in 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 ...

Career

After serving in the Army, O'Connell returned to Tacoma and established a private legal practice. He served as the city prosecutor of Tacoma and county prosecutor of

Pierce County, Washington Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous county in Washington, behind King County, and the 60th-most populous ...

. O'Connell was elected Attorney General of Washington in 1956, and served until 1969. O'Connell was succeeded in office by Slade Gorton. O'Connell was also the Democratic nominee in the 1968 Washington gubernatorial election, losing to Republican

Daniel J. Evans Daniel Jackson Evans (born October 16, 1925) is an American politician who served as the List of governors of Washington, 16th governor of Washington from 1965 to 1977, and as United States Senator, United States senator representing Washington S ...

. Soon after leaving office, O'Connell resumed his private legal practice.

Personal life

O'Connell and his wife, Margaret, had six children. He died in Tacoma on March 24, 1998, at the age of 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:OConnell, John J. People from Tacoma, Washington 1919 births 1998 deaths Washington (state) attorneys general Washington (state) lawyers Washington (state) Democrats Gonzaga University alumni Gonzaga University School of Law alumni 20th-century American lawyers United States Army personnel of World War II