James Randolph Olin (February 28, 1920 – July 29, 2006) was an American politician from the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. From 1983 to 1993, Olin, 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 ...

, served in 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 ...

for

Virginia's 6th congressional district Virginia's sixth congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, United States congressional district in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It covers much of the west-central portion of the state, including Roanoke, Virg ...

Early life and education

Olin was born in

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 ...

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 ...

, the grandson of

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

immigrants, and raised in

Kenilworth, Illinois Kenilworth is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States, north of downtown Chicago. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census it had a population of 2,514. It is the newest of the nine suburban North Shore (Chicago), North Shore c ...

. He attended

Deep Springs College Deep Springs College (known simply as Deep Springs or DS) is a private junior college in Deep Springs, California. With the number of undergraduates restricted to 26, the college is one of the smallest institutions of higher education in the U ...

, before moving on to

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

, from which he earned an

electrical engineering Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

degree in 1943. Then, until 1946, Olin served in the

Signal Corps A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army. Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...

of 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 ...

Politics

Olin, a

, made his first bid for political office in 1953, when he became

Rotterdam, New York Rotterdam is a town in Schenectady County, New York, United States. The population was 30,523 at the 2020 census. The town of Rotterdam is in the south-central part of the county. It was founded in 1661 by Dutch settlers, who named it after t ...

supervisor and served on the Schenectady County board of supervisors. For 35 years until retiring in January 1982, Olin worked in

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

(GE) as corporate vice president and general manager of industrial electronics. Over the years, Olin's job at GE took him to Schenectady,

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

, and

Salem, Virginia Salem is an independent city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,346. It is the county seat of Roanoke County, although the two are separate jurisdictions. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combine ...

. In 1982, Olin was elected to represent the 6th district of Virginia in the U.S. House of Representatives, becoming the first Democrat to hold this seat since 1953. The 6th, stretching from Roanoke through the

Shenandoah Valley The Shenandoah Valley () is a geographic valley and cultural region of western Virginia and the eastern panhandle of West Virginia in the United States. The Valley is bounded to the east by the Blue Ridge Mountains, to the west by the east ...

, had been one of the first areas of Virginia to turn Republican. The district's six-term Republican incumbent, M. Caldwell Butler, hadn't even faced major-party opposition since 1974. However, Olin won a narrow victory. Over the next two years, Olin worked this vast district well, and held onto his seat in 1984 even as

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

carried the district in a landslide. He would never face another close race again, easily defeating Republican challengers in 1986 and 1988 and only facing an independent in 1990. While in the House, Olin was considered to be a moderate member of the state's delegation. In 1990, he was one of the only three Democrats in the House to vote against

Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 or ADA () is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on disability. It affords similar protections against discrimination to Americans with disabilities as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, ...

. That same year, he clashed with President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

over his budget proposals. As a member of the

United States House Committee on Agriculture The United States House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture, or Agriculture Committee is a Standing committees, standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The House Committee on Agriculture has general jurisdiction o ...

, Olin advocated reducing milk price subsidies. In 1991, he opposed the

Persian Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. Olin did not run for a sixth term in 1992. That same year he received an honorary LLD from

Washington and Lee University Washington and Lee University (Washington and Lee or W&L) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Lexington, Virginia, United States. Established in 1749 as Augusta Academy, it is among ...

. His preferred choice to replace him as the Democratic nominee lost at the district convention to Stephen Musselwhite, who was then handily defeated by Republican

Bob Goodlatte Robert William Goodlatte (; born September 22, 1952) is an American politician, attorney, and lobbyist who served in the United States House of Representatives representing from 1993 to 2019. A Republican Party (United States), Republican, he was ...

, a former aide to Butler. Proving just how Republican this district was, no Democrat has crossed the 40 percent mark in the district since Olin left office. He died at age 86 in

Charlottesville, Virginia Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...

Electoral history

* 1982: elected to the U.S. House of Representatives with 51% of the vote, defeating Republican Kevin Grey Miller * 1984: re-elected with 54% of the vote, defeating Republican Ray L. Garland * 1986: re-elected with 70% of the vote, defeating Republican Flo Neher Traywick * 1988: re-elected with 64% of the vote, defeating Republican Charles E. Judd * 1990: re-elected with 84% of the vote, defeating Independent Gerald E. Berg

Personal life

Olin married Phyllis Olin and had five children with her: Richard, Thomas, Kathy (Milliken), James, and Trina (Santry). The Olin family settled in

Roanoke, Virginia Roanoke ( ) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It lies in Southwest Virginia, along the Roanoke River, in the Blue Ridge Mountains, Blue Ridge range of the greater Appalachian Mountains. Roanok ...

in 1968 and relocated to

in 2003. Jim and Phyllis Olin had eleven grandchildren: Jennifer Milliken Bartlett, Marc Dentico-Olin, Scott Milliken, Julia Milliken, John Olin, Chad Olin, Christine Milliken, Hannah Olin, Arthur Santry IV, Alexa Santry, and Richard Santry. They also had two great-grandsons: Aidan Bartlett and Nathan Bartlett as of 2012.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Olin, Jim 1920 births 2006 deaths American electronics engineers United States Army personnel of World War II American people of Swedish descent Cornell University College of Engineering alumni Deep Springs College alumni General Electric employees People from Kenilworth, Illinois People from Rotterdam, New York Politicians from Charlottesville, Virginia Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Erie, Pennsylvania Politicians from Roanoke, Virginia United States Army soldiers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia Engineers from New York (state) Engineers from Virginia Engineers from Pennsylvania Engineers from Illinois 20th-century American engineers 20th-century Virginia politicians 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives