Michael J. Kirwan

Michael J. Kirwan (1955)

Michael Joseph Kirwan (born December 2, 1886 in Wilkes-Barre , Pennsylvania , † July 27, 1970 in Bethesda , Maryland ) was an American politician of the Democratic Party . January 3, 1937 until his death on 27 July 1970 he was a member of the House of Representatives of the United States for the 19th  congressional district of the state of Ohio .

biography

Kirwan was born in Wilkes-Barre. In 1907 he moved with his parents to Youngstown, Ohio . During the First World War he served in the US Army . After he returned from the war, he began his political career.

At the beginning, he campaigned for the construction of a canal from Lake Erie to the Ohio River in order to economically strengthen the areas along the planned canal. Kirwan pursued this goal all his life, but to no avail. In 1936 he ran successfully in the 19th District of Ohio for a seat in the House of Representatives. During his time in Congress, he campaigned for social housing , the construction of dams, reservoirs and the like that are state-sponsored. Kirwan was a total of seven legislative terms (14 years) chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee , an important political institution of the Democrats in Congress. To honor his political achievement, a banquet was held in Youngstown in 1959, the keynote speaker that evening was then Senator and later President John F. Kennedy .

In 1968 he was re-elected for a 17th legislative term. He wanted to do this and then retire. In 1969 he fell badly at a University Club event in Washington, DC , and was admitted to the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, where he died of the long-term effects of the fall in 1970.

Kirwan was buried in Calwary Cemetery , Youngstown. Fifty members of Congress attended his funeral, who did him their honor. He remained a bachelor throughout his life and was of the Roman Catholic faith .

Web links

Commons : Michael J. Kirwan  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Michael J. Kirwan in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Michael J. Kirwan in the database of Find a Grave (English)