Charles Augustus Boyle (August 13, 1907 – November 4, 1959) was an American politician who was a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's north side representing Illinois's 12th congressional district from 1955 to his death in a car accident.

Early life, education, and career

Boyle was born in

Spring Lake, Michigan Spring Lake is a village in Ottawa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,497 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Spring Lake Township; the two share a ZIP code. History In 1837, Captain Benjamin Hopkins p ...

on August 13, 1907, the son of Rose (née Marsh) and Michael Melvin Boyle. His paternal grandparents were Irish. Boyle grew up on his parents' farm for much of his youth. He also spent another portion of his youth in

Hammond, Indiana Hammond ( ) is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. Located along Lake Michigan, it is part of the Chicago metropolitan area and the only city in Indiana to border Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the Li ...

. After leaving his parents' farm for

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

, he attended Mount Carmel High School in

, and graduated from the high school in 1925. In 1930, Boyle graduated from

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

with an undergraduate degree, and in 1933 he graduated from the

Loyola University Chicago School of Law Loyola University Chicago School of Law is the law school of Loyola University Chicago, a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago. Established in 1908, Loyola University Chicago School of Law offers de ...

with a law degree. He worked Chicago Motor Coach Company as a student, being employed as bus driver for seven years, including the years he received his degrees. He was admitted to the Illinois

state bar association A state bar association is a bar association that represents or seeks to represent the attorneys practicing law in a particular U.S. state. Their functions differ from state to state, but often include administration of the state bar examination fo ...

in 1934, and began working as a lawyer in Chicago. In 1937 and 1938, he worked for a period as a zone attorney for the

Federal Housing Administration The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), also known as the Office of Housing within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), is a Independent agencies of the United States government, United States government agency founded by Pr ...

. At the time of his death, he was a member of the

law firm A law firm is a business entity formed by one or more lawyers to engage in the practice of law. The primary service rendered by a law firm is to advise consumer, clients (individuals or corporations) about their legal rights and Obligation, respon ...

Boyle, Murphy, and Walsh.

Congressional tenure

A member of the Democratic Party, Boyle was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

, representing the Illinois's 12th congressional district. He was the first Democrat to represent the district, and won election in an upset over the

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

, Edgar A. Jonas (a Republican). The district covered portions of the North Side of Chicago, including the campus of his alma mater Loyola University. Boyle was re-elected to congress in

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

and

1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the thir ...

, and served on the

House Committee on the Judiciary The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, f ...

and

House Appropriations Committee The United States House Committee on Appropriations is a committee of the United States House of Representatives that is responsible for passing appropriation bills along with its Senate counterpart. The bills passed by the Appropriations Co ...

, and later as a member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense. Boyle had a reputation for being a strong supporter of

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

. After Farid Zeineddine, the ambassador of Syria to the United States, made remarks considered derogatory towards

Jewish Americans American Jews (; ) or Jewish Americans are Americans, American citizens who are Jews, Jewish, whether by Jewish culture, culture, ethnicity, or Judaism, religion. According to a 2020 poll conducted by Pew Research, approximately two thirds of Am ...

Boyle called for the expulsion of Zeineddine from the United States. In 1957, the government of Israel honored Boyle on his fiftieth birthday by naming a 1,00-tree

Eucalyptus ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of more than 700 species of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae. Most species of ''Eucalyptus'' are trees, often Mallee (habit), mallees, and a few are shrubs. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalyp ...

grove in the Judaean Hills for him.

Death

Congressman Boyle died in a car crash on November 4, 1959, traveling home from campaigning for fellow Democrats in elections the day before. He died after his car had crashed into an elevated train pillar on North Western Avenue. Police speculated that Boyle had either fallen asleep or been cut off by another car. He was the only occupant of his vehicle at the time of the crash. The 12th district went unrepresented for more than a year until after the 1960 general elections, when the Democrat Edward Rowan Finnegan defeated Theodore P. Fields.

Family and personal life

Boyle was

catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He wa a member of Illinois Bar Association,

American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...

Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), commonly known as the Elks Lodge or simply The Elks, is an American fraternal order and charitable organization founded in 1868 in New York City. Originally established as a social club for m ...

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

University Council of the Irish Fellowship, and the Edgewater Golf Club. Boyle married his wife, Helen L. (née Shaughnessy), in 1940. They had eight children together: Charles A. Boyle Jr. (also known as "Patrick" or "Pat"), Marty, Thomas, Rose, Loran, Irene, Michael, Larry, and Catherine. The Boyle's eldest child, son Charles "Pat" Boyle, became a lawyer, and briefly ran as a candidate in the Democratic primary of the

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

open-seat race in Illinois's 9th congressional district. However, his candidacy was largely overlooked, and he withdrew. Additionally, through their son Michael, the Boyles are the paternal grandparents of actress

Lara Flynn Boyle Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24, 1970) is an American actress. She is known for playing Donna Hayward in the television series ''Twin Peaks'' (1990–1991). After appearing in Penelope Spheeris's comedy ''Wayne's World (film), Wayne's World'' (1 ...

. Boyle was the 1952 recipient of the "Chicago father of the year" and "Mr. Illinois" honors.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyle, Charles A. 1907 births 1959 deaths American people of Irish descent Road incident deaths in Illinois Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois People from Spring Lake, Michigan 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives Lawyers from Chicago Loyola University Chicago School of Law alumni Catholics from Michigan Catholics from Indiana Catholic politicians from Illinois

Early life, education, and career

Congressional tenure

Death

Family and personal life

See also

References