Martin Patrick Durkin (March 18, 1894 – November 13, 1955) was a U.S.
administrator. He served as
Secretary of Labor from January 21, 1953, to September 10, 1953, where he was the "plumber" of President
Dwight Eisenhower's "Nine Millionaires and a Plumber"
cabinet.
Biography
Durkin was born in
Chicago, Illinois
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, on March 18, 1894, the son of James J. Durkin and Mary Catherine (''née'' Higgins). At the age of 17, Durkin became involved in the plumber's and pipe fitter's union.
[ On August 29, 1921, Durkin married the former Anna H. McNicholas. They had three sons: Martin Bernard, William Joseph and John Francis Durkin. He eventually became president of that union, and then served as Director of Labor for the State of Illinois from 1933 to 1941. He worked closely with the President ]Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins.
Durkin served as the Secretary of Labor during the Eisenhower administration
Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following a landslide victory ...
. A Democrat among Republicans, he unsuccessfully pushed for his revisions in the Taft-Hartley Act. This led to his resignation after less than eight months in office, the shortest tenure of any Secretary of Labor.Washington D.C.
)
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, from complications of cancer
Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...
surgery. He was interred in St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Evergreen Park, Illinois
Evergreen Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. In 2020, the population was 19,943.
History
As early as 1828, a German farming family had settled in the area of what is now Evergreen Park. In the succeeding decades, other Ge ...
.
See also
* List of U.S. political appointments that crossed party lines
References
External links
Department of Labor biography
1894 births
1955 deaths
American plumbers
Eisenhower administration cabinet members
20th-century American politicians
Politicians from Chicago
United States Secretaries of Labor
Catholics from Illinois
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