James Churchill Oliver (August 6, 1895 – December 25, 1986) 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

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. He served three consecutive congressional terms as a Republican from 1937 to 1943, then later served a fourth term as 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

from 1959 to 1961.

Early life and career

Born in

South Portland, Maine South Portland is a city in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, and is the List of municipalities in Maine, fourth-most populous city in the state, incorporated in 1898. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city population wa ...

, Oliver attended the public schools and

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. It was chartered in 1794. The main Bowdoin campus is located near Casco Bay and the Androscoggin River. In a ...

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. Brunswick is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part o ...

, receiving an A.B. degree in 1917. He enlisted in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

on June 4, 1917, attended the

Plattsburg Barracks The "Old Stone Barracks" is the last remaining structure of a proposed quadrangle of early U.S. Army barracks built at Plattsburgh, New York in 1838. Of the four main buildings initially planned for the Plattsburgh post, only two were ever co ...

Training Camp, and was commissioned a captain on November 27, 1917. He was promoted to major of Infantry on October 9, 1918, and transferred to the Inspector General's Department until honorably discharged on July 22, 1919. He engaged in the general insurance business in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

from 1930 to 1937. He served as member of the board of aldermen of

, in 1932 and 1933.

Political career

Congress

Oliver was elected as a Republican to the Seventy-fifth, Seventy-sixth, and Seventy-seventh Congresses (January 3, 1937 – January 3, 1943). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1942.

Coast Guard and Campaign for Governor

He served as lieutenant commander in the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and Admiralty law, law enforcement military branch, service branch of the armed forces of the United States. It is one of the country's eight Uniformed services ...

from January 26, 1943, to April 23, 1946. In 1946 he engaged in the real estate and insurance business in Maine and California. He was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for governor in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, ...

Return to Congress

He was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Congress in

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He unsuccessfully contested the election of Robert Hale to the Eighty-fifth Congress in 1956. Oliver was elected as a

to the Eighty-sixth Congress (January 3, 1959 – January 3, 1961). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

to the Eighty-seventh Congress. He served as delegate to the

1960 Democratic National Convention The 1960 Democratic National Convention was held in Los Angeles, California, on July 11–15, 1960. It nominated Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts for president and Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson of Texas for vice president. In ...

Later career and death

He was a real estate developer in

Cape Elizabeth, Maine Cape Elizabeth is a New England town, town in Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The town is part of the Portland, Maine, Portland–South Portland, Maine, South Portland–Biddeford, Maine, Biddeford, Ma ...

. He moved to

Orlando, Florida Orlando ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, Florida, United States. The city proper had a population of 307,573 at the 2020 census, making it the fourth-most populous city in Florida behind Jacksonville, Florida, Jacksonville ...

, where he died December 25, 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oliver, James Churchill 1895 births 1986 deaths Bowdoin College alumni Politicians from South Portland, Maine People from Cape Elizabeth, Maine United States Army officers Maine city council members Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives