John Ralph McDOWELL, Congress, PA (1902-1957)

McDOWELL, John Ralph, a Representative from Pennsylvania; born in Pitcairn, Allegheny County, Pa., November 6, 1902; attended the public and high schools; was graduated from Randolph-Macon Military Academy, Front Royal, Va., in 1923; employed as a reporter on the Pitcairn Express in 1923 and worked on various newspapers until 1929; magistrate of Pitcairn 1925-1928; became editor of the Wilkinsburg Gazette in 1929 and president of the Wilkinsburg Gazette Publishing Co., in 1933; elected as a Republican to the Seventy-sixth Congress (January 3, 1939-January 3, 1941); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1940 to the Seventy-seventh Congress and for election in 1942 to the Seventy-eighth Congress; elected in 1946 to the Eightieth Congress (January 3, 1947-January 3, 1949); unsuccessful for reelection in 1948 to the Eighty-first Congress; resumed the publishing business; died in Wilkinsburg, Pa., December 11, 1957; interment in Woodlawn Cemetery.

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