Arthur Franklin Earley (September 4, 1925 – June 9, 1981) was an American politician who served as a Republican member of the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from the 159th district from 1979 to 1981. He was the first black member elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 159th district. He was among the first African Americans to serve in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

and was a founder of the Montford Point Marine Association.

Early life and education

Earley was born in

Lynchburg, Virginia Lynchburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. First settled in 1757 by ferry owner and Abolitionism, abolitionist John Lynch (1740–1820), J ...

. He received an A.B. from

Howard University Howard University is a private, historically black, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity" and accredited by the Mid ...

, attended

American University The American University (AU or American) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Its main campus spans 90-acres (36 ha) on Ward Circle, in the Spri ...

and received an LL.B from Temple University Law School. He served in

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

in the United States Marine Corps from 1943 to 1946. In 1965, Earley was a legal advisor to the creation of the Montford Point Marine Association, a non-profit, military veteran organization founded to memorialize the legacy of the first African Americans to serve in the United States Marine Corps. Earley was accepted into the Montford Point Marine Association Hall of Fame posthumously in 1999.

Career

Earley served as the assistant district attorney for

Delaware County, Pennsylvania Delaware County, colloquially referred to as Delco, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. With a population of 576,830 as of the 2020 census, it is the List of counties in Pennsylv ...

from 1971 to 1978. He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from the 159th district for the 1979 and 1981 terms. Earley was a member of the Delaware County bar association,

Phi Beta Sigma Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. It was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. in 1914. The fraternity's founders, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, wanted to ...

fraternity, Phi Alpha Delta legal fraternity and the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

. He died of a heart attack in office in 1981 and was succeeded by Robert C. Wright.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earley, Arthur F. 1925 births 1981 deaths 20th-century American lawyers African Americans in World War II African-American state legislators in Pennsylvania United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Howard University alumni Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Temple University alumni United States Marines 20th-century African-American politicians African-American United States Navy personnel 20th-century African-American lawyers 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly