Barratt O'Hara

Barratt O'Hara with his wife (around 1915)

Barratt O'Hara (born April 28, 1882 in St. Joseph , Michigan , †  August 11, 1969 in Washington, DC ) was an American politician . Between 1949 and 1951 and from 1953 to 1969 he represented the state of Illinois in the US House of Representatives .

Career

Barratt O'Hara attended public schools in his homeland and in Nicaragua , where he temporarily moved with his father. Despite his youth, he took part in the Spanish-American War of 1898 as a corporal in a Michigan infantry unit . He later returned to Michigan, where he continued his education at Benton Harbor High School . He studied at the University of Missouri in 1901 and 1902 and then from 1909 to 1910 at Northwestern University . In the meantime he worked in the newspaper industry as a reporter, publisher and editor for various newspapers. After studying law at the Chicago-Kent College of Law and being admitted to the bar in 1912, he began working in this profession in Chicago . At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party .

Between 1913 and 1917, O'Hara was Lieutenant Governor of Illinois. In 1915 he ran unsuccessfully for the US Senate . He also got into the film business and was President of Arizona Film Co. in 1916 and 1917. During World War I he was a major in the legal service of the US Army . In 1920 he applied unsuccessfully for the office of governor of Illinois. Between 1933 and 1935 he was also a radio commentator in Chicago. In 1936, his first candidacy for the US House of Representatives failed.

In the 1948 congressional election , O'Hara was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington in the second constituency of Illinois, where he succeeded Richard B. Vail on January 3, 1949 , whom he had defeated in the election. Since he was defeated by Vail in 1950, he was initially only able to serve one term in Congress until January 3, 1951 . In the elections of 1952 he was re-elected to Congress, where he replaced Richard Vail on January 3, 1953. After seven re-elections, he was able to spend eight more terms in Congress until January 3, 1969. During this time, the Cold War and the beginning of the Vietnam War took place, as well as the civil rights movement domestically .

In 1968 Barratt O'Hara was no longer nominated for re-election by his party. He died in Washington on August 11, 1969 and was buried in Chicago.

Web links

• Barratt O'Hara in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• Barratt O'Hara in the database of Find a Grave (English)