James F. Burke (politician)

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For other people named James Burke, see James Burke (disambiguation).
James Francis Burke
Chairman of the College Republican National Committee
In office
1892–1892
Preceded byInaugural Officeholder
Succeeded byDelmar Hawkins
Personal details
Born(1867-10-21)October 21, 1867
Petroleum Center, Pennsylvania, US
DiedAugust 8, 1932(1932-08-08) (aged 64)
Washington, D.C., US
Political partyRepublican
SpouseJosephine Birch Scott
Children2
Alma materUniversity of Michigan Law School

James Francis Burke (October 21, 1867 – August 8, 1932) was Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania.

Early life

James Burke was born in

Ann Arbor where he graduated 1892. While at Michigan he organized the American Republican College League, the predecessor to the College Republicans. Petitioning then president, Republican William McKinley Burke won approval for the organization and hosted an inaugural banquet attended by McKinley along with 1,500 college students[2] The organization quickly spread to almost every college in the country. In 1888, at age 21, Burke was made secretary of the committee in charge of the dedication of the then-new Allegheny County Court House, at which President Rutherford B. Hayes
made the dedicating address.

Legal career

After graduating from the

American Republican College League
.

Political career

Burke ran for Congress in 1904 and was elected by a wide majority. He subsequently served five consecutive terms. He was chairman of the congressional committee which inaugurated William Howard Taft as the president of the United States.

During his time in congress, Burke served on a number of committees, including:

He had a hand in a number of important pieces of legislation, including taking an active role in framing the Federal Reserve Act which created the Federal Reserve Bank, America's central bank.

He was appointed a delegate to the

Republican National Conventions
from 1892 to 1924, with the exception of the year 1912.

Post-Congress career

He was not a candidate for renomination in

First World War
.

Following his political career, Burke resumed the practice of law, practicing for 10 years as a criminal lawyer at the Allegheny county bar. Additionally, he was elected General Counsel of the Republican National Committee in December 1927 and served until his death. He was parliamentarian of the Republican National Convention at Kansas City, Missouri, in 1928.

Burke wrote a number of treatises, including "The Powers of the President", investigating the role of the president during wartime, and a history of the World Peace Conference entitled "Perplexing Problems of the World's Peace Conference".

Personal

Burke was an avid golfer and belonged to a number of golf and country clubs. He was founder of the

Beaumaris Yacht Club, in Beaumaris, Ontario, where he had a summer house. He may also have been a member of the very exclusive Bath and Tennis Club in Palm Beach, Fl. At one point the United States Golf Association asked him to prepare a set of rules which was ultimately presented to the international committee at St. Andrews in Scotland
.

In 1895, Burke married Josephine Birch Scott of

Calvary Cemetery, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
.

References

  1. ^ "United States Census, 1870", FamilySearch, retrieved March 28, 2018
  2. ^ History of Pittsburgh and Environs: Biographical. New York: American Historical Society. 1922. p. 32. pittsburgh and environs.

Sources

Pittsburgh Press, Feb 17, 1929, Rep Burke hosted luncheon for Pres-Elect Hoover at the Bath and Tennis Club

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Henry K. Porter
 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 31st congressional district
1905–1915 		Succeeded by
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_F._Burke_(politician)&oldid=1197414896"