James Francis O'Connor (May 7, 1878 – January 15, 1945) was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

Biography

O'Connor was born on a farm near California Junction, Iowa, and attended grade school and normal school in Iowa. He graduated from the law department of the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln The University of Nebraska–Lincoln (Nebraska, NU, or UNL) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Lincoln, Nebraska, United States. Chartered in 1869 by the Nebraska Legislature as part of the M ...

in 1904, 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 ...

and commenced practice in

Livingston, Montana Livingston is a city and the county seat of Park County, Montana, United States. It is in southwestern Montana, on the Yellowstone River, north of Yellowstone National Park. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 8,040. Hist ...

in 1905. O'Connor self-identified as being Irish Catholic. In addition to practicing law, O'Connor engaged in stock raising, ranching, and banking. He served as judge of Montana's sixth judicial district in 1912. He served in the

Montana House of Representatives The Montana House of Representatives is, with the Montana Senate, one of the two houses of the Montana Legislature. Composed of 100 members, the House elects its leadership every two years. Composition of the House In the event that the parti ...

from 1917 to 1918 and was the Speaker of the House. O'Connor served as special counsel for the

Federal Trade Commission The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) United States antitrust law, antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. It ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, in 1918. He also served as member of Park County High School Board for a number of years. Following the death of United States Senator Thomas J. Walsh, O'Connor ran for the Democratic nomination to succeed Walsh in the

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

special election, challenging James E. Murray and John E. Erickson, who, as

Governor of Montana A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, had appointed himself to the seat. O'Connor lost to Murray, but finished ahead of Erickson. Murray went on to win the general election. In

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

incumbent United States Congressman

Roy E. Ayers Roy Elmer Ayers (November 9, 1882May 23, 1955) was a U.S. Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician. He served as a member of the United States House of Representatives and as the List of Governors of Montana, 11th Governor of Monta ...

ran for

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and O'Connor ran to succeed him in

Montana's 2nd congressional district Montana's second congressional district is a congressional district in the United States House of Representatives that was apportioned after the 2020 United States census. The first candidates ran in the 2022 United States House of Representati ...

. O'Connor won the Democratic primary and defeated T. S. Stockdahl, the Republican nominee, in a landslide. O'Connor was narrowly re-elected in

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

over W. C. Husband when Republicans nationwide gained eighty-one House seats. He won re-election in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

in a landslide against Melvin N. Hoiness, and again in

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

against F. F. Haynes by a much narrower margin. O'Connor was an isolationist during the buildup to World War II, and he voted against providing aid to Britain in 1941. O'Connor served as the Chairman of the House Committee on Indian Affairs during the

78th United States Congress The 78th 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, 194 ...

, from 1943 to 1945. He defeated Haynes once again in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

, winning his fifth term. O'Connor died in Washington, D.C., on January 15, 1945, just weeks after beginning his fifth term. He was interred in Mount Calvary Cemetery,

Biography

See also

References

Further reading