Thomas Dunn ENGLISH, Congress, NJ (1819-1902)

ENGLISH Thomas Dunn , a Representative from New Jersey; born in Philadelphia, Pa., June 29, 1819; attended the Friends' Academy, Burlington, N.J., and was graduated from the medical department of the University of Pennsylvania at Philadelphia in 1839; studied law; was admitted to the Philadelphia bar in 1842, but mainly pursued journalism; wrote the song Ben Bolt in 1843, and was the author of many poems, ballads, and lyrics; moved to Virginia in 1852; moved to New York City in 1857, and to Newark, N.J., a year later; member of the State house of assembly in 1863 and 1864; elected as a Democrat to the Fifty-second and Fifty-third Congresses (March 4, 1891-March 3, 1895); chairman, Committee on Alcoholic Liquor Traffic (Fifty-third Congress); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1894 to the Fifty-fourth Congress; resumed his former literary pursuits in Newark, N.J., until his death on April 1, 1902; interment in Fairmont Cemetery.

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