James Henry O'Brien (July 15, 1860 – September 2, 1924 in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

) was an American politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, he served terms in the

New York State Senate The New York State Senate is the upper house of the New York State Legislature, while the New York State Assembly is its lower house. Established in 1777 by the Constitution of New York, its members are elected to two-year terms with no term l ...

from 1911 to 1912, and in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

for one term from 1913 to 1915.

Early life and education

O'Brien was born in

Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...

Queens County, New York Queens is the largest by area of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn and by Nassau County ...

on July 15, 1860. He attended the public schools in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

, and graduated from Browne's Business College in Brooklyn.

Business career

He became a resident of the town of

East New York East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough line to the north; ...

, which was later incorporated into the city of Brooklyn. O'Brien worked as a machinist and mechanical engineer, and later owned and operated the J. H. O'Brien Scale & Supply Company, a business that manufactured commercial scales and equipment used in constructing overhead tramways.

Political career

State Senate

O'Brien became active in politics as a Democrat. He was a member of the

(10th D.) in

1911 Events January * January 1 – A decade after federation, the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory are added to the Commonwealth of Australia. * January 3 ** 1911 Kebin earthquake: An earthquake of 7.7 m ...

and

1912 This year is notable for Sinking of the Titanic, the sinking of the ''Titanic'', which occurred on April 15. In Albania, this leap year runs with only 353 days as the country achieved switching from the Julian to Gregorian Calendar by skippin ...

. While in the Senate, he served as chairman of the Agriculture Committee, and was chairman of the state's Food Investigating Commission.

Congress

O'Brien was elected as a

to the

63rd United States Congress The 63rd 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 March 4, 1913, t ...

, and served from March 4, 1913, to March 3, 1915. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1914.

Later career and death

After leaving Congress, O'Brien resumed management of his business interests. He served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Empire, British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that has been stored ...

. He died in Brooklyn on September 2, 1924, and was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery.

Family

O'Brien was married to Catherine "Kate" Lyons. They were the parents of four sons and three daughters; William, James, Thomas, Edward, Geraldine, Anna, and Estelle.

References

Sources

Newspapers

* *

External sources

People from East New York, Brooklyn 1860 births 1924 deaths Democratic Party New York (state) state senators Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 20th-century members of the New York State Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{NewYork-Representative-stub