John Herman Dent (March 10, 1908 – April 9, 1988) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives 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, ...

Early life and education

John Dent was born in

Jeannette, Pennsylvania Jeannette is a city in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Jeannette was founded in 1888. The city got its name from one of the original city fathers, who wished to honor his wife, Jeannette McLaughlin, by giving the new town her fi ...

, to Samuel and Genevieve Dent. He was educated in the public schools of Armstrong and Westmoreland counties, the Naval Station Great Lakes, and through correspondence school courses.

Business activities

He was a member of the local council of the

United Rubber Workers The United Rubber, Cork, Linoleum and Plastic Workers of America (URW) was a labor union representing workers involved in manufacturing using specific materials, in the United States and Canada. The union was founded in 1935 as the United Rubber Wo ...

from 1923 to 1937, and served as president of Local 18759, on the executive council, and as a member of the international council. He operated the Kelden Coal & Coke Co. of Hunker, and the Building & Transportation Co. of

Trafford Trafford is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England, with an estimated population of 235,493 in 2017. It covers Retrieved on 13 December 2007. and includes the area of Old Trafford and the towns of Altrincham, Stretford, Ur ...

, and Jeannette.

Government activities

He was a Jeannette City Councilman from 1932 to 1934. He served in the

United States Marine The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

Air Corps from 1924 to 1928. 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 ...

from 1935 to 1936, and a member of the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1937 to 1958. He was the Democratic Floor Leader in the State Senate from 1939 until 1958. He was elected in

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...

as a Democrat to the

85th United States Congress The 85th 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, D.C. from January 3, 195 ...

, by special election, January 21, 1958, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Augustine Kelley, and was reelected to the ten succeeding Congresses. He was not a candidate for reelection in 1978.

References

Retrieved on 2008-02-25
The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dent, John H. Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators United States Marines 1908 births 1988 deaths American trade union leaders Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 20th-century American politicians