Martin Patrick Durkin (March 18, 1894 – November 13, 1955) was a U.S.

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

. He served as

Secretary of Labor The United States Secretary of Labor is a member of the Cabinet of the United States, and as the head of the United States Department of Labor, controls the department, and enforces and suggests laws involving unions, the workplace, and all o ...

from January 21, 1953, to September 10, 1953, where he was the "plumber" of President

Dwight Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War I ...

's "Nine Millionaires and a Plumber" cabinet.

Biography

Durkin was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, on March 18, 1894, the son of James J. Durkin and Mary Catherine (''née'' Higgins). At the age of 17, Durkin became involved in the plumber's and pipe fitter's union. On August 29, 1921, Durkin married the former Anna H. McNicholas. They had three sons: Martin Bernard, William Joseph and John Francis Durkin. He eventually became president of that union, and then served as Director of Labor for the State of Illinois from 1933 to 1941. He worked closely with the President Franklin D. Roosevelt's

Frances Perkins Frances Perkins (born Fannie Coralie Perkins; April 10, 1880 – May 14, 1965) was an American workers-rights advocate who served as the 4th United States secretary of labor from 1933 to 1945, the longest serving in that position. A member of th ...

. Durkin served as the Secretary of Labor during the

Eisenhower administration Dwight D. Eisenhower's tenure as the 34th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1953, and ended on January 20, 1961. Eisenhower, a Republican from Kansas, took office following a landslide victory ...

. A Democrat among Republicans, he unsuccessfully pushed for his revisions in the Taft-Hartley Act. This led to his resignation after less than eight months in office, the shortest tenure of any

. He died in Washington D.C., from complications of

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

surgery. He was interred in St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in

Evergreen Park, Illinois Evergreen Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. In 2020, the population was 19,943. History As early as 1828, a German farming family had settled in the area of what is now Evergreen Park. In the succeeding decades, other Ge ...

References

External links

Department of Labor biography

1894 births 1955 deaths American plumbers Eisenhower administration cabinet members 20th-century American politicians Politicians from Chicago United States Secretaries of Labor Catholics from Illinois {{US-gov-bio-stub

Biography

See also

References

External links