James Aloysius Byrne (June 22, 1906 – August 27, 1980) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives for

Pennsylvania's 3rd congressional district Pennsylvania's third congressional district includes several areas of the city of Philadelphia, including West Philadelphia, most of Center City, and parts of North Philadelphia. It has been represented by Democrat Dwight Evans since 2019. With ...

from 1953 to 1973. Jim Byrne was born in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

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, ...

to Katherine (née Foody) and James P. Byrne, all four of his grandparents were

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

immigrants. He attended St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia. He was engaged in business as a mortician from 1937 to 1950. He was the county registrar for the

Bureau of Vital Statistics Civil registration is the system by which a government records the vital events (births, marriages, and deaths) of its citizens and residents. The resulting repository or database has different names in different countries and even in differe ...

, 1934–1939. He served as chief deputy

United States Marshal The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforc ...

1940–1943, and as United States marshal for eastern district of

from 1943 to 1945. He was the senior disbursing officer of the Pennsylvania State Treasury from 1945 to 1950. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1936. He was a member of the

Pennsylvania State House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

in 1951 and 1952. He was elected in 1953 as a Democrat to the 83rd and to the nine succeeding Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1972. Byrne and fellow congressman Bill Green III were put together by redistricting. Green won the primary. He died on September 3, 1980 and was interred at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in

Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania Cheltenham Township is a home rule township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. Cheltenham's population density ranges from over 10,000 per square mile (25,900 per square kilometer) in rowhouses and high-rise apartments along Chel ...

. The James A. Byrne Courthouse in Philadelphia is named in his honor and the grand oak tree in the central courtyard at the University of Pennsylvania was renamed "Byrne's Oak".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, James A. 1906 births 1980 deaths American people of Irish descent Politicians from Philadelphia Saint Joseph's University alumni United States Marshals American funeral directors Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 20th-century American politicians