James Edward MURRAY, Congress, MT (1876-1961)

MURRAY James Edward , a Senator from Montana; born on a farm near St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada, May 3, 1876; attended the public schools of Canada; graduated from St. Jerome's College, Berlin, Canada, in 1897; came to the United States in 1897, settled in Butte, Mont., and was naturalized in 1900; graduated from the law department of New York University in 1900; admitted to the bar in 1901 and commenced practice in Butte, Mont.; also engaged in banking; county attorney of Silver Bow County, Mont., 1906-1908; chairman of the State advisory board f the Public Works Administration 1933-1934; elected on November 6, 1934, as a Democrat to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Thomas J. Walsh; reelected in 1936, 1942, 1948 and 1954 and served from November 7, 1934, to January 3, 1961; was not a candidate for renomination in 1960; chairman, Committee on Education and Labor (Seventy-ninth Congress), co-chairman, Joint Committee on Labor-Management Relations (Eighty-first Congress), chairman, Committee on Labor and Public Welfare (Eighty-second Congress), Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs (Eighty-fourth through Eighty-sixth Congresses); died in Butte, Mont., March 23, 1961; interment in Holy Cross Cemetery.

Bibliography

American National Biography; Dictionary of American Biography; Evans, William B. "Senator James E. Murray: A Voice of the People in Foreign Affairs." Montana 32 (Winter 1982): 24-35; Spritzer, Donald E. Senator James E. Murray and the Limits of Post-War Liberalism. New York: Garland Press, 1985.

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