Jacob Banks Kurtz (October 31, 1867 – September 18, 1960) was a Republican member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

from Pennsylvania.

Biography

J. Banks Kurtz was born in Delaware Township, Juniata County, Pennsylvania. He graduated from

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...

Carlisle, Pennsylvania Carlisle is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2020 United States census, ...

, and from

Dickinson School of Law Penn State Dickinson Law, formerly Dickinson School of Law, is a public law school in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. It is one of two separately accredited law schools of The Pennsylvania State University. According to Penn State Dickinson Law's 2019 ...

in 1893. While at school, Kurtz was a member of the Union Philosophical Society as well as the

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...

and Delta Chi fraternities. He was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Altoona, Pennsylvania. He served as district attorney of

Blair County, Pennsylvania Blair County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 122,822. Its county seat is Hollidaysburg. The county was created on February 26, 1846, from parts of Huntingdon and Bedford counties. Blai ...

from 1905 to 1912. He was chairman of the committee of public safety and council of national defense for Blair County during the First World War. Kurtz was elected as a Republican to the

sixty-eighth United States Congress The 68th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1923, ...

and to the five succeeding Congresses. He represented Pennsylvania's 21st congressional district (first 5 terms) and 23rd congressional district (final term). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

. He resumed the practice of law, and was a delegate to the

Republican National Conventions The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the United States Republican Party. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal of the Repu ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

, and

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

. He served as city solicitor of Altoona from 1944 to 1946. He died in Altoona, with interment in Alto Reste Burial Park.

Personal life

In September 1895, Kurtz married Jennie Stockton and they had a daughter, Dorothy. J. Banks Kurtz.

References

Sources

The Political Graveyard

External links

* 1867 births 1960 deaths People from Juniata County, Pennsylvania Politicians from Altoona, Pennsylvania Pennsylvania lawyers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania {{Pennsylvania-Representative-stub