Joseph Matthew Gaydos (July 3, 1926 – February 7, 2015) was a Democratic member of the

U.S. 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 chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from

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, ...

. Gaydos was the first

Slovak American Slovak Americans are Americans of Slovak descent. In the 1990 Census, Slovak Americans made up the third-largest portion of Slavic ethnic groups. There are currently about 790,000 people of Slovak descent living in the United States. History ...

to serve in the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

Early life and education

Gaydos was born in

Braddock, Pennsylvania Braddock is a borough located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. It is upstream from the mouth of the Monongahela River. The population was 1,721 as of the 2020 census. The borough is represented by the ...

. His parents were called John and Elona Magella Gaydos and were born in

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

. He attended

Duquesne University Duquesne University of the Holy Spirit ( or ; Duquesne University or Duquesne) is a private Catholic research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Founded by members of the Congregation of the Holy Spirit , image = Holy Gh ...

and graduated from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1951.

World War II

He served 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 opposing ...

in the Pacific theater with the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2005, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called Reservists, are categorized as being in either the Se ...

, 1944–1946.

Political career

He served in the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1967 to 1968. He served as Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Assistant Solicitor of Allegheny County, and general counsel to

United Mine Workers of America The United Mine Workers of America (UMW or UMWA) is a North American labor union best known for representing coal miners. Today, the Union also represents health care workers, truck drivers, manufacturing workers and public employees in the Unit ...

, district five. He was elected simultaneously as a Democrat to the 90th and to the

91st Congress The 91st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1969, ...

, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative Elmer Holland. He prioritized workers’ rights and preservation of the domestic steel industry while in Congress. He was a strong supporter of organized labor and was a leading proponent of strengthening labor laws to provide health and pension benefits, as well as job safety protections, for employees. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1992. He died on February 7, 2015, aged 88.

References

Sources

; retrieved March 1, 2015 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaydos, Joseph M. 1926 births 2015 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II American people of Hungarian descent American people of Slovak descent Duquesne University alumni Military personnel from Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators People from Braddock, Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Politicians from Pittsburgh United Mine Workers people Notre Dame Law School alumni 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers United States Navy reservists