- James G. O'Hara
James Grant O'Hara (
November 8 ,1925 –March 13 ,1989 ) was a soldier and politician from theU.S. state ofMichigan , serving asU.S. Representative from 1959 to 1977.O'Hara was born in
Washington, D.C. . He moved with his parents to Michigan in 1939 and graduated from University of Detroit High School in 1943. During theSecond World War , he served as an enlisted man in theUnited States Army with Company B, 511th Parachute Infantry Regiment,U.S. 11th Airborne Division , seeing action in thePacific Theater of Operations .After the war, O'Hara graduated from the
University of Michigan in 1954 and from the law department of the same university in 1955. He was admitted to the bar in 1955 and commenced the practice of law in Detroit and Macomb County. He was a delegate to theDemocratic National Convention s in 1960 and 1968.In 1958, he defeated incumbent Republican
Robert J. McIntosh to be elected as a Democrat to the86th United States Congress . He was subsequently re-elected to the eight succeeding Congresses, serving fromJanuary 3 ,1959 toJanuary 3 ,1977 . He representedMichigan's 7th congressional district from 1959 to 1965 and after redistricting due to the 1960 census, he representedMichigan's 12th congressional district from 1965 to 1977. Both districts were part of theMetro Detroit area.O'Hara was not a candidate for reelection in 1976, but instead chose to run for a seat in the
United States Senate , afterPhilip A. Hart chose not to seek re-election. O'Hara lost in the Democratic primary election toDonald W. Riegle, Jr. , who went on to win in the general election. O'Hara resumed the practice of law in Washington, D.C. He was a member, and later chairman, Federal Minimum Wage Study Commission, 1978-1981.O'Hara was a resident of
Alexandria, Virginia , until his death at age 63 from lung cancer at theGeorge Washington University Medical Center in Washington. He is interred inArlington National Cemetery .References
* [http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/ohara.html#R9M0J8C1Q The Political Graveyard]
*http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jgohara.htm
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