Jacob Le Roy Milligan (March 9, 1889 – March 9, 1951) was a

United States Representative 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

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

Biography

Born in Richmond, Missouri, Milligan attended the public schools and the law department of the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

1910-1914. He was admitted to the bar in 1913 and commenced practice in Richmond, in 1914. During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, he enlisted in the Sixth Regiment, Missouri Infantry, on April 8, 1917. He served as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Company G, One Hundred and Fortieth Infantry Regiment, Thirty-fifth Division, from August 4, 1917, to May 15, 1919. He received the

Purple Heart The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, w ...

and

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against an e ...

. He returned April 28, 1919. Milligan was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Sixty-sixth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Joshua W. Alexander and served from February 14, 1920, to March 3, 1921. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1920 to the Sixty-seventh Congress. He later served as delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

in 1928. Milligan was elected to the Sixty-eighth and to the five succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1923 – January 3, 1935). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1934 but was an unsuccessful candidate for nomination for

United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...

. He and fellow Representative

John J. Cochran John Joseph Cochran (August 11, 1880 – March 6, 1947) was a U.S. Representative from Missouri. Cochran was born in Webster Groves, Missouri; his father and maternal grandparents were Irish immigrants. He attended the public schools in Webster ...

were defeated by

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

. Jacob Milligan's brother

Maurice M. Milligan Maurice Morton Milligan (November 23, 1884 – June 19, 1959), a U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, is most famous for the successful 1939 prosecution of the Kansas City boss Tom Pendergast. Born in Richmond, Missouri, Milligan r ...

challenged Truman in the Democratic primary for his reelection campaign in 1940. Jacob Milligan resumed the practice of law and served as president of Kansas City Police Board from 1949 to 1950. He died in

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

on his sixty-second birthday, March 9, 1951, and was interred in Fairview Cemetery,

Liberty, Missouri Liberty is a city in and the county seat of Clay County, Missouri, United States and is a suburb of Kansas City, located in the Kansas City Metropolitan Area. As of the 2020 United States Census the population was 30,167. Liberty is home to Willi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Milligan, Jacob Le Roy 1889 births 1951 deaths University of Missouri alumni United States Army officers People from Richmond, Missouri Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri 20th-century American politicians