James McDevitt Magee (April 5, 1877 – April 16, 1949) was an aviator and a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

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, ...

Biography

James M. Magee was born in Evergreen, Pennsylvania (near

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

). He graduated from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

in 1899, where he was a member of

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones, also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death, is an undergraduate senior secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior class society at the university, Skull and Bone ...

, and from the law department of the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

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 ...

in 1902. He was admitted to the bar in 1903 and commenced practice in Pittsburgh. He was commissioned a first lieutenant in the

United States Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial war ...

during the

First World War 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 was promoted to captain and served until January 1919. He was later commissioned a lieutenant colonel in the Reserve. During his entire period of service he was attached to the executive office of the Department of Military Aeronautics. Magee was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-eighth and Sixty-ninth Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in

1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...

. He served as chairman of the Pennsylvania Securities Commission in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, from 1931 to 1935. He continued the practice of law in Pittsburgh until his death there. Magee was interred in

Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Calvary Catholic Cemetery is located at 718 Hazelwood Avenue in the Greenfield and Hazelwood neighborhoods of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. It was founded in 1886 with the purchase of a 200-acre (80-hectare) tract. The first official interment ...

. Magee was brother of

John Magee (missionary) John Gillespie Magee (October 10, 1884 – September 11, 1953) was an American Episcopal priest, best known for his work in Nanking as a missionary, and for the films and pictures he shot during the Nanking Massacre. He is also credited with s ...

, and uncle to John Gillespie Magee, Jr., author of the poem "High Flight."

References

Retrieved on 2008-02-10
The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magee, James M. 1877 births 1949 deaths Burials at Calvary Catholic Cemetery (Pittsburgh) Pennsylvania lawyers Politicians from Pittsburgh Yale University alumni United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I University of Pennsylvania Law School alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania