James Earl Major

James Earl Major (born January 5, 1887 in Donnellson , Montgomery County , Illinois , †  January 4, 1972 in Hillsboro , Illinois) was an American lawyer and politician . Between 1923 and 1933 he represented the state of Illinois in the US House of Representatives three times ; then he became a federal judge .

Career

James Major attended public schools in his home country and then Brown's Business College until 1907 . After a subsequent law degree at the Illinois College of Law in Chicago and his admission to the bar in 1910, he began to work in Hillsboro in this profession. Between 1912 and 1920 he was a district attorney in the local Montgomery County. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party .

In the 1922 congressional election , Major in the 21st  constituency of Illinois was elected to the House of Representatives in Washington, DC , where he succeeded Republican Loren E. Wheeler , whom he defeated in the election, on March 4, 1923 . Since he lost to Wheeler in 1924, he was initially only able to complete one legislative period in Congress until March 3, 1925 . After that he practiced as a lawyer again. In the elections of 1926 Major was able to defeat his rival Wheeler again and move back to Congress on March 4, 1927, where he remained until March 3, 1929. In 1928 he was defeated by Frank M. Ramey . In 1930 he made his comeback to Congress again, where he replaced Ramey on March 4, 1931. After a re-election, Major was able to exercise his mandate until his resignation on October 6, 1933. This time was marked by the world economic crisis. In 1933, he was one of the congressmen tasked with conducting impeachment proceedings against Federal Judge Harold Louderback .

Major's resignation came after his appointment as a federal judge. First he was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a judge at the federal district court for the southern district of Illinois, where he succeeded Louis Fitzhenry on January 26, 1934 . He followed this again on March 23, 1937 as a judge at the Federal Court of Appeal for the seventh court district. From 1948 to 1954 he held the position of Chief Judge there . On March 23, 1956, he moved to senior status. He died in Hillsboro on January 4, 1972.

Web links

• James Earl Major in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
• James Earl Major in the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges