John D. Dingell, Sr.
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John David Dingell, Sr. (b. February 2, 1894, Detroit, Michigan – d. September 19, 1955, Washington, D.C.) was an American politician who represented Michigan's 15th congressional district from 1933 to 1955.
Dingell was born in Detroit and worked as newsboy, printer and newspaperman. He had also engaged in the construction of natural gas pipelines, was a wholesale dealer in beef and pork products and an organizer and trustee of Colorado Springs Labor College.
Following the 1930 U.S. Census, Michigan gained four new seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. In 1932, Dingell was elected as a Democrat from the newly formed 15th District in western Detroit. He was reelected eleven times and served until his death at Walter Reed Army Hospital in Washington, D.C. at the age of 61. He is interred at the Holy Sepulchre Mausoleum in Southfield, Michigan.
Reflecting the prevailing prejudices of the period, a memorable letter from Dingell to President Roosevelt on August 18, 1941 suggested that ten thousand Japanese-Hawaiian Americans be incarcerated in order to ensure "good behavior" from Japan ([1]).
A special election called to fill the remainder of Dingell's term was won by his son, John, Jr., who took his father's place in Congress on December 13, 1955.
In January 1995, John Dingell, Jr. became the Dean, or the longest-serving member of the House and, as of 2006, the father and son together have 73 consecutive years of service in Congress.
A hallmark of their service has been a proposal for a national health insurance system, first introduced by John, Sr. in 1933 and re-introduced since at every Congress by the father and then the son.
Dingell's grandson, Christopher D. Dingell, has also taken to politics, having been elected to the Michigan State Senate in 1998.
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| Preceded by None |
United States Representative for the 15th Congressional District of Michigan 1933 – 1955 |
Succeeded by John Dingell, Jr. |
