American lawyer and politician
James H. Duff
|
---|
![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/James_Henderson_Duff.jpg) |
|
|
In office
January 3, 1951 ? January 3, 1957
|
Preceded by
| Francis J. Myers
|
---|
Succeeded by
| Joseph S. Clark
|
---|
|
In office
January 21, 1947 ? January 16, 1951
|
Lieutenant
| Daniel B. Strickler
|
---|
Preceded by
| John C. Bell, Jr.
|
---|
Succeeded by
| John S. Fine
|
---|
|
In office
January 19, 1943 ? January 21, 1947
|
Governor
| Edward Martin
John C. Bell, Jr.
|
---|
Preceded by
| E. Russell Shockley
|
---|
Succeeded by
| T. McKeen Chidsey
|
---|
|
|
Born
| James Henderson Duff
(
1883-01-21
)
January 21, 1883
Carnegie, Pennsylvania
, U.S.
|
---|
Died
| December 20, 1969
(1969-12-20)
(aged 86)
Washington, D.C.
, U.S.
|
---|
Political party
| Republican
|
---|
Spouse
|
Jean Kerr Taylor
(
m.
)
|
---|
Alma mater
| Princeton University
(
AB
)
University of Pittsburgh
(
LLB
)
|
---|
Profession
| Attorney
,
Politician
|
---|
|
James Henderson Duff
(January 21, 1883 – December 20, 1969) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the
Republican Party
, he served as
United States Senator
from
Pennsylvania
from 1951 to 1957. Previously he had served as the 34th
governor of Pennsylvania
from 1947 to 1951.
Early life and education
[
edit
]
James Duff was born in Mansfield (now
Carnegie
), a suburb of
Pittsburgh
,
Pennsylvania
.
[1]
The oldest of four children, he was the son of Rev. Joseph Miller and Margaret (nee Morgan) Duff.
[2]
His father was a
Presbyterian
minister for forty years, and his paternal grandfather was the first college-educated doctor in western Pennsylvania.
[3]
Two of his great-grandfathers were members of the
Provincial Council of Pennsylvania
between 1683 and 1717.
[4]
After graduating at the top of his class at Carnegie High School, Duff attended
Princeton University
in
New Jersey
, where he received a
Bachelor of Arts
degree in 1904.
[1]
Originally he had intended to study medicine but, after winning two medals in public speaking at Princeton, decided to study law instead.
[4]
He attended the
University of Pennsylvania Law School
in
Philadelphia
until 1906, when he transferred to the
University of Pittsburgh Law School
to be closer to home.
[2]
In 1907, he received his law degree and was admitted to the bar.
[1]
He married Jean Kerr Taylor in 1909; the couple had only one child who died in infancy, but they raised a nephew after the boy's father died.
[3]
Early career
[
edit
]
Duff practiced law in Pittsburgh for thirty-six years, establishing the law firm of Duff, Scott and Smith.
[4]
He also served as
solicitor
of Carnegie, and was an elector for
Theodore Roosevelt
in the
1912 presidential election
.
[2]
In addition to practicing law, Duff was engaged in the oil business for several years. He began by buying an oil driller's rig and taking a lease on some property about five miles from his home, where he struck oil.
[5]
He subsequently engaged in ventures in other parts of western Pennsylvania as well as
Mexico
.
[5]
He also served as president of the Criterion Oil Company and of the Westmoreland Natural Gas Company.
[2]
He lost his fortune in the
1929 stock market crash
, taking several years to recover financially.
[5]
He was a delegate to the
Republican National Convention
in
1932
,
1936
, and
1940
.
[4]
Political career
[
edit
]
Duff was appointed
Attorney General of Pennsylvania
by
Governor
Edward Martin
in 1943, serving in that position until 1947.
[1]
During his tenure, he worked to strengthen the state's stream pollution law despite facing strong opposition from the coal industry.
[5]
He also fought against the mining industry after promoting legislation to prevent the discharge of mine silt into the
Schuylkill River
.
[5]
The Desilting Act and Clean Streams Act (also known as the Brunner Act) were passed in 1945 under Duff's tenure as Attorney General.
[6]
In 1946,
John Bell
, who had been elected
Lieutenant Governor
in 1942 and had ascended to the governorship following Martin's resignation for the US senate, declined to be a candidate in the upcoming
1946 gubernatorial election
. Duff subsequently won the Republican nomination, and was
elected
the 34th Governor of Pennsylvania in the general election.
[1]
His campaign focused on the issues of conservation, public health, and education.
[5]
He handily defeated his
Democratic
opponent, former
President pro tempore of the State Senate
John Rice
, by more than 557,000 votes.
[4]
Duff was elected to the
United States Senate
from Pennsylvania in
1950
, narrowly unseating Democratic Senator
Francis J. Myers
. After losing the
1956 election
to
Democrat
Joe Clark
in one of the closest elections in Pennsylvania history, Duff retired from politics, but remained in
Washington, D.C.
, as a partner in the law firm of Davies, Richberg, Tydings, Landa & Duff. He died in Washington, D.C., and was buried in Carnegie, Pennsylvania.
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
Class 1
| | |
---|
Class 3
| |
---|
Notes
| †
Never officially seated
|
---|
|
---|
Presidents
(1777–1790)
| | |
---|
Governors
(since 1790)
| |
---|
|
---|
Colonial
(1683–1776)
|
- John White
- Samuel Hersent
- John White
- Lloyd
- John Moore
- Robert Assheton
- Paromlus Parmyter
- George Lowther
- Thomas Clarke
- Robert Quarry
- Henry Wilson
- Hamilton
- Joseph Growden Jr.
- John Kinsey
- Francis
- Chew
- Allen
| |
---|
Council
-appointed
(1776–91)
| |
---|
Governor
-appointed
(1791–1980)
| |
---|
Elected
(since 1980)
| |
---|
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
People
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|