John James BLAINE, Congress, WI (1875-1934)

BLAINE, John James, a Senator from Wisconsin; born on a farm in Wingville Township, Grant County, Wis., May 4, 1875; attended the common schools; was graduated from the law department of Valparaiso (Ind.) University in 1896; was admitted to the bar in 1896 and commenced practice in Montford; moved to Boscobel in 1897 and continued the practice of law; mayor of Boscobel 1901-1904, 1906-1907; member of the Grant County Board of Supervisors 1901-1904; member, State senate 1909-1913; unsuccessful candidate for Governor in 1914; attorney general of the State of Wisconsin 1919-1921; Governor of Wisconsin 1921-1927; elected as a Republican to the United States Senate for the term beginning March 4, 1927, and served from March 4, 1927, to March 3, 1933; unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1932; resumed the practice of law at Boscobel; appointed a director of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in 1933 and served until his death in Boscobel, Wis., April 16, 1934; interment in Hillside Cemetery.

Bibliography

American National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; O’Brien, Patrick. ‘Senator John J. Blaine: An Independent Progressive During ‘Normalcy’.’ Wisconsin Magazine of History 60 (Autumn 1976): 25-41.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present