| 79th United States Congress | |||
United States Capitol (1956) |
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| Duration: January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1947 | |||
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| Senate President: | Henry A. Wallace (until January 20) Harry S. Truman (Jan-Apr 1945) Vacant (1945–1947) |
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| Senate Pres. pro tem: | Kenneth McKellar | ||
| House Speaker: | Sam Rayburn | ||
| Members: | 96 Senators 435 Representatives 4 Non-voting members |
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| Senate Majority: | Democratic | ||
| House Majority: | Democratic | ||
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| Sessions | |||
| 1st: January 3, 1945 – December 21, 1945 2nd: January 14, 1946 – August 2, 1946 |
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The Seventy-ninth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1945 to January 3, 1947, during the last months of Franklin D. Roosevelt's presidency, and the first two years of Harry S. Truman's presidency. The apportionment of seats in this House of Representatives was based on the Sixteenth Census of the United States in 1940. Both chambers had a Democratic majority.
TOTAL members: 96
TOTAL members: 435
Senators are popularly elected statewide every two years, with one-third beginning new six year terms with each Congress. Preceding the names in the list below are Senate class numbers, which indicate the cycle of their election.
The names of members of the House of Representatives are preceded by their district numbers.
The count below reflects changes from the beginning of this Congress.
| State (class) |
Former senator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's installation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Massachusetts (2) |
Vacant | Sen. Sinclair Weeks resigned in previous congress. Saltonstall delayed taking seat in order to finish term as Governor of Massachusetts. | Leverett Saltonstall (R) | January 4, 1945 |
| Washington (1) |
Monrad Wallgren (D) | Resigned January 9, 1945 after being elected Governor of Washington. Successor was appointed to serve until a special election, which he subsequently lost. |
Hugh Mitchell (D) | January 10, 1945 |
| Connecticut (1) |
Francis T. Maloney (D) | Died January 16, 1945. Successor was appointed to serve until a special election. |
Thomas C. Hart (R) | February 15, 1945 |
| Missouri (1) |
Harry S. Truman (D) | Resigned January 17, 1945 after being elected Vice President of the United States. Successor was appointed to serve until the next election. |
Frank P. Briggs (D) | January 18, 1945 |
| North Dakota (3) |
John Moses (D) | Died March 3, 1945. Successor was appointed to serve until a special election, which he subsequently won. |
Milton Young (R) | March 12, 1945 |
| Nevada (1) |
James G. Scrugham (D) | Died June 23, 1945. Successor was appointed to serve until the next election. |
Edward P. Carville (D) | July 25, 1945 |
| California (1) |
Hiram Johnson (R) | Died August 6, 1945. Successor was appointed to serve until a special election, which he subsequently won. |
William F. Knowland (R) | August 26, 1945 |
| Ohio (1) |
Harold H. Burton (R) | Resigned September 30, 1945 after being appointed an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Successor was appointed to serve until a special election. |
James W. Huffman (D) | October 8, 1945 |
| Kentucky (2) |
Happy Chandler (D) | Resigned November 1, 1945 after becoming Commissioner of Major League Baseball. Successor was appointed to serve until a special election. |
William A. Stanfill (R) | November 19, 1945 |
| Idaho (2) |
John W. Thomas (R) | Died November 10, 1945. Successor was appointed to serve until a special election, which he subsequently lost. |
Charles C. Gossett (D) | November 17, 1945 |
| Virginia (2) |
Carter Glass (D) | Died May 28, 1946. Successor was appointed to serve until a special election. |
Thomas G. Burch (D) | May 31, 1946 |
| Alabama (2) |
John H. Bankhead II (D) | Died June 12, 1946. Successor was appointed to serve until a special election. |
George R. Swift (D) | June 15, 1946 |
| Vermont (1) |
Warren Austin (R) | Resigned August 2, 1946 after being appointed United States representative on the United Nations Security Council. Successor was appointed to serve until the next election. |
Ralph Flanders (R) | November 1, 1946 |
| Florida (1) |
Charles O. Andrews (D) | Died September 18, 1946. Successor was elected to finish term. |
Spessard Holland (D) | September 25, 1946 |
| Alabama (2) |
George R. Swift (D) | Resigned November 5, 1946. Successor was elected to finish term. |
John Sparkman (D) | November 6, 1946 |
| Connecticut (1) |
Thomas C. Hart (R) | Resigned November 5, 1946. Successor was elected to finish term. |
Raymond E. Baldwin (R) | December 27, 1946 |
| Kentucky (2) |
William A. Stanfill (R) | Resigned November 5, 1946. Successor was elected to finish term | John S. Cooper (R) | November 6, 1946 |
| Ohio (1) |
James W. Huffman (D) | Resigned November 5, 1946. Successor was elected to finish term. | Kingsley A. Taft (R) | November 6, 1946 |
| Virginia (2) |
Thomas G. Burch (D) | Resigned November 5, 1946. Successor was elected to finish term. |
Absalom W. Robertson (D) | November 6, 1946 |
| Idaho (2) |
Charles C. Gossett (R) | Resigned November 6, 1946. Successor was elected to finish term. |
Henry Dworshak (R) | November 6, 1946 |
| North Carolina (2) |
Josiah Bailey (D) | Died December 15, 1946. Successor was appointed to serve until a special election, which he subsequently lost. |
William B. Umstead (D) | December 18, 1946 |
| Washington (1) |
Hugh Mitchell (D) | Resigned December 25, 1946. Successor was elected to finish term. | Harry P. Cain (R) | December 26, 1946 |
| District | Vacator | Reason for change | Successor | Date of successor's installation |
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| Montana 2nd | James F. O'Connor (D) | Died January 15, 1945 | Wesley A. D'Ewart (R) | June 5, 1945 |
| Virginia 3rd | Dave E. Satterfield, Jr. (D) | Resigned February 15, 1945 to become general counsel and executive director of the Life Insurance Association of America | J. Vaughan Gary (D) | March 6, 1945 |
| Illinois 24th | James V. Heidinger (R) | Died March 22, 1945 | Roy Clippinger (R) | November 6, 1945 |
| New Mexico At-large | Clinton P. Anderson (D) | Resigned June 30, 1945 after being appointed Secretary of Agriculture | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| New Jersey 4th | D. Lane Powers (R) | Resigned August 30, 1945 to become a member of the Public Utilities Commission of New Jersey | Frank A. Mathews, Jr. (R) | November 6, 1945 |
| Oregon 1st | James W. Mott (R) | Died November 12, 1945 | A. Walter Norblad (R) | January 18, 1946 |
| North Carolina 10th | Joseph W. Ervin (D) | Died December 25, 1945 | Sam Ervin (D) | January 22, 1946 |
| New York 19th | Samuel Dickstein (D) | Resigned December 30, 1945 | Arthur G. Klein (D) | February 19, 1946 |
| Georgia 5th | Robert Ramspeck (D) | Resigned December 31, 1945 to become executive vice-president of the Air Transport Association | Helen D. Mankin (D) | February 12, 1946 |
| Pennsylvania 33rd | Samuel A. Weiss (D) | Resigned January 7, 1946 after being elected judge of Common Pleas in Allegheny County, Pennylvania | Frank Buchanan (D) | May 21, 1946 |
| Pennsylvania 23rd | J. Buell Snyder (D) | Died February 24, 1946 | Carl H. Hoffman (R) | May 21, 1946 |
| North Carolina 8th | William O. Burgin (D) | Resigned April 11, 1946 | Eliza Jane Pratt (D) | May 25, 1946 |
| Virginia 5th | Thomas G. Burch (D) | Resigned May 31, 1946 after being appointed to the US Senate | Thomas B. Stanley (D) | November 5, 1946 |
| Texas 6th | Luther A. Johnson (D) | Resigned July 17, 1946 after becoming judge of the United States Tax Court | Olin E. Teague (D) | August 24, 1946 |
| Pennsylvania 10th | [John W. Murphy]] (D) | Resigned July 17, 1946 to become judge of the US District Court for the Midddle District of Pennsylvnia | James P. Scoblick (R) | November 5, 1946 |
| Minnesota 3rd | William Gallagher (DFL) | Died August 13, 1946 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Puerto Rico At-large | Jesús T. Piñero (PPD) | Resigned September 2, 1946 after being appointed Governor of Puerto Rico | Antonio Fernós-Isern (PPD) | September 11, 1946 |
| New York 4th | Clinton P. Anderson (D) | Died October 20, 1946 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Alabama 8th | John Sparkman (D) | Resigned November 5, 1946 after being elected to the US Senate | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Idaho 2nd | Henry Dworshak (R) | Resigned November 5, 1946 after being elected to the US Senate | Vacant | Not filled this term |
| Virginia 5th | Absalom W. Robertson (D) | Resigned November 5, 1946 after being elected to the US Senate | Burr Harrison (D) | November 5, 1946 |
| Wisconsin 2nd | Robert K. Henry (R) | Died November 20, 1946 | Vacant | Not filled this term |
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