James Wylie Huffman (September 13, 1894May 20, 1980) was an American lawyer and

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician from

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

. He represented

in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

from 1945 until 1946.

Early life

Huffman was born in Chandlersville, Ohio on September 13, 1894 and attended the schools of Rich Hill Township in Muskingum County as well as schools in Ashland County. He was a student at Ohio Wesleyan University and

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, then worked as a high school teacher and principal for three years.

World War I

Huffman joined the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

for

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 completed officer training, received his commission as a second lieutenant, and was assigned as a machine gun officer for the

329th Infantry Regiment The 329th Infantry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army. During World War I and World War II. It was part of the 83rd Infantry Division. World War II During World War II, Lt. Sam Magill facilitated the mass surrender of 20,000 German ...

, a unit of the 83rd Division. He was subsequently assigned to the 120th Machine Gun Battalion, a unit of the 32nd Division. Huffman participated in four major

American Expeditionary Forces The American Expeditionary Forces (A. E. F.) was a formation of the United States Army on the Western Front of World War I. The A. E. F. was established on July 5, 1917, in France under the command of General John J. Pershing. It fought along ...

offensives -- Aisne–Marne, Oise–Aisne, Meuse–Argonne, and Argonne Forest. In 1918, he was promoted to

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a ...

. After the

Armistice of 11 November 1918 The Armistice of 11 November 1918 was the armistice signed at Le Francport near Compiègne that ended fighting on land, sea, and air in World War I between the Entente and their last remaining opponent, Germany. Previous armistices ...

ended the war, Huffman remained in Germany for six months of occupation duty.

Career

Huffman was discharged from the army in 1919 and attended the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dis ...

, from which he graduated with an

LL.B. 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 ...

degree in 1922. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

and practiced in Chicago. He carried out a temporary appointment as an assistant state attorney general in 1923, then decided to return to Ohio. In 1925, Huffman married Margaret Catherine Donahey, the daughter of Governor A. Victor Donahey. Huffman served as Donahey's executive assistant during his governorship, and was a member of the state public utilities commission from 1927 to 1929. At the expiration of his term, Huffman began to practice law in

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

. In 1944, Huffman ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for Ohio governor. He subsequently served as Ohio's director of commerce during the first term of Governor

Frank Lausche Frank John Lausche (; November 14, 1895 – April 21, 1990) was an American Democratic politician from Ohio. He served as the 47th mayor of Cleveland and the 55th and 57th governor of Ohio, and also served as a United States Senator from Ohio ...

U.S. Senator

In 1945, Senator

Harold Hitz Burton Harold Hitz Burton (June 22, 1888 – October 28, 1964) was an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 45th mayor of Cleveland, Ohio, as a U.S. Senator from Ohio, and as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Sta ...

resigned in order to accept appointment to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. Lausche appointed Huffman to fill the vacancy and he served in the U.S. Senate from October 8, 1945 to November 5, 1946, when Kingsley A. Taft defeated him in the election to complete the remainder of the term. After leaving the Senate, Huffman resumed practicing law until 1957, when he became president of the Motorists Mutual Insurance Company. He later became president of a newly-formed subsidiary, Motorists Life Insurance Company.

Death and burial

Huffman died in Pickerington, Ohio on May 20, 1980. He was buried at

Arlington National Cemetery Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...

References

External links

1894 births 1980 deaths People from Muskingum County, Ohio Democratic Party United States senators from Ohio Ohio Democrats Ohio Wesleyan University alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni American military personnel of World War I United States Army soldiers Politicians from Columbus, Ohio Ohio State University trustees Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Writers from Columbus, Ohio 20th-century American politicians {{Ohio-politician-stub