James Anthony Burke (March 30, 1910 – October 13, 1983) was a

United States Representative 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

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

from 1959 to 1979. He was born in Boston, Massachusetts. He was educated in the Boston public schools and Lincoln Preparatory School and attended Suffolk University. Burke was a real estate salesman, and served in appointive positions including registrar of vital statistics for the city of Boston. He was a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, and served in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...

from 1937 to 1939. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Burke was a special agent in

Counter-intelligence Counterintelligence is an activity aimed at protecting an agency's intelligence program from an opposition's intelligence service. It includes gathering information and conducting activities to prevent espionage, sabotage, assassinations or ot ...

, attached to the

77th Infantry Division 77th Division or 75th Infantry Division may refer to: * 77th Infantry Division (Wehrmacht), Germany * 77th Infantry Division of Khurasan, Iran * 77th Division (Imperial Japanese Army) * 77th Division (People's Republic of China) * 77th Division ( ...

in the South Pacific. After the war he was again elected to the Massachusetts House, serving four terms, 1947 to 1955, and attaining the position of assistant

majority leader In U.S. politics (as well as in some other countries utilizing the presidential system), the majority floor leader is a partisan position in a legislative body.

. He served as vice chairman of the

Massachusetts Democratic State Committee The Massachusetts Democratic Party (MassDems) is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is chaired by Gus Bickford. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling all nine of Massachusetts' U ...

for four years. He was the unsuccessful Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor in 1954, and ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination in 1956. In 1958 Burke was elected to the Eighty-sixth Congress. He was reelected to the nine succeeding Congresses, and served from January 3, 1959 to January 3, 1979. He rose through seniority to become the second-ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Committee, and was considered an expert on the Social Security system. Burke was not a candidate for reelection in 1978 to the Ninety-sixth Congress. He was a resident of

Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...

until his death in Boston, Massachusetts on October 13, 1983 and his interment was at

Milton Cemetery Milton Cemetery is a historic cemetery at 211 Centre Street in Milton, Massachusetts. Established in 1672, it is the town's only municipal burying ground. There are three distinct sections to its grounds: the original burying ground, a tract ...

Note

:1. The 18th Suffolk District sent two representatives to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1939.

Michael Paul Feeney Michael Paul Feeney (March 26, 1907 – August 13, 1991) was an American politician who served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1939 to 1981. Feeney began his political career in 1938. He was elected to Massachusetts House of ...

and Frank J. Morrison succeeded Burke and Patrick J. Welsh.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Burke, James Anthony 1910 births 1983 deaths Politicians from Boston Suffolk University alumni Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives People from Milton, Massachusetts Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 20th-century American politicians

See also

Note

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