Joseph John O'Brien (October 9, 1897 – January 23, 1953) was a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together the ...

from

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

Biography

O'Brien was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located i ...

. He graduated from Rochester's Cathedral High School, and attended

St. Jerome's University St. Jerome's University, commonly shortened to St. Jerome's or SJU, is a public Roman Catholic university in Waterloo, Ontario. It is federated with the University of Waterloo. St. Jerome's, within the University of Waterloo, combines academic ...

and

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

from 1917 until 1919. After his

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

service, O'Brien was employed by the

New York Central Railroad The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Mi ...

from 1919 until 1938, and advanced to the position of chief construction inspector. From 1919 until 1926 he was both a semiprofessional football player and a professional wrestler. He entered politics as a

, and was elected head of the East Rochester Republican Club in 1932. He served as treasurer of

East Rochester, New York East Rochester is a coterminous town and village located southeast of the City of Rochester in Monroe County, New York, United States. The village, home to approximately 6,600 people, is surrounded by Pittsford on the west side and by Perinto ...

from 1932 until 1935 and assessor from 1935 until 1938. O'Brien was elected to Congress in 1938 and represented

New York's 38th congressional district New York's 38th congressional district was a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives in New York. It was created in 1913 as a result of the 1910 U.S. Census and eliminated in 1983 as a result of the redistricting c ...

from January 3, 1939, until January 3, 1945. He lost a bid for re-election in 1944. After leaving Congress, O'Brien was the Rochester area administrator for the state Workmen's Compensation Act. He died in

after suffering a series of heart attacks beginning in 1950. He was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester.

Family

In 1924, O'Brien married Mildred Erway. They had no children.

Sources

* 1897 births 1953 deaths Politicians from Rochester, New York University of Waterloo alumni McGill University alumni United States Navy personnel of World War I New York Central Railroad Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state) 20th-century American politicians {{NewYork-Representative-stub