James Edward Ruffin (July 24, 1893 – April 9, 1977) 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

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. Born on a farm near

Covington, Tennessee Covington is a city in central Tipton County, Tennessee, United States. Covington is the second largest city and county seat of Tipton County. The city is located in West Tennessee, east of the Mississippi River. The city's population was 9,038 a ...

, Ruffin moved to

Aurora, Missouri Aurora is a city in Lawrence County, Missouri, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 7,217. History The Honey Creek area, near Aurora, was originally settled by pioneers from Tennessee, including James D. Hillhou ...

with his parents. He graduated from Aurora High School in 1912 and from Drury College (

Drury University Drury University, formerly Drury College and originally Springfield College, is a private university in Springfield, Missouri, United States. The university's mission statement describes itself as "church-related". It enrolls about 1,590 undergr ...

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, in 1916. While in college he was a member of Phi Alpha Sigma, and later

Lambda Chi Alpha Lambda Chi Alpha (), commonly referred to as Lambda Chi, is a fraternities and sororities, collegiate fraternity in North America. With over 300,000 initiates as of 2024, it is the third-largest social fraternity in the world by number of initia ...

. He taught school at Nickerson (Kansas) College in 1917, before being commissioned a first lieutenant on November 27, 1917. He served in the Fifty-third Regiment, Pioneer Infantry, overseas with the First and Thirty-fifth Divisions, and was discharged on June 3, 1919. In 1920, Ruffin graduated from the

Cumberland School of Law The Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA-accredited law school at Samford University in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law sch ...

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1842. The oldest campus buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842–1861 The university was founded by the Cumberl ...

Lebanon, Tennessee Lebanon ( ) is the county seat of Wilson County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 38,431 at the 2020 census. Lebanon is located in Middle Tennessee, approximately east of downtown Nashville. Lebanon is part of the Nashville Metro ...

, in 1920. He was admitted to the bar that same year and commenced practice in

. From 1926 to 1928, he served as assistant city attorney. Ruffin was elected 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 ...

to the

Seventy-third Congress The 73rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1933, ...

. He was unsuccessful in his bid for renomination to the

Seventy-fourth Congress The 74th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 193 ...

in 1934. Ruffin was appointed special assistant to the

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...

on May 9, 1935. Assigned to the criminal division of the

Department of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

, he served until August 1953. He resumed the practice of law in

, where he died April 9, 1977. Ruffin is interred in East Lawn Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ruffin, James Edward 1893 births 1977 deaths United States Army officers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Missouri Drury University alumni People from Covington, Tennessee People from Aurora, Missouri People from Springfield, Missouri 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives