John Alexander Key (December 30, 1871 – March 4, 1954) was an American politician who served as 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

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

for three terms from 1913 to 1919.

Early life and career

Born in

Marion, Ohio Marion is a city in Marion County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down slig ...

, Key attended the public schools. He learned the printer's trade. He was a city letter carrier from 1897 to 1903. He was Recorder of Marion County from 1903 to 1908. He was Secretary to Representative Carl C. Anderson, of Ohio from 1908 to 1912.

Congress

Key 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 Sixty-third, Sixty-fourth, and Sixty-fifth Congresses (March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1919). He served as chairman of the Committee on Pensions (Sixty-third through Sixty-fifth Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1918 to the Sixty-sixth Congress.

Later career and death

He engaged in the

petroleum industry The petroleum industry, also known as the oil industry, includes the global processes of hydrocarbon exploration, exploration, extraction of petroleum, extraction, oil refinery, refining, Petroleum transport, transportation (often by oil tankers ...

. He served as inspector of Federal prisons from 1934 until his retirement in 1941.

Death

He died in

, March 4, 1954. He was interred in Marion Cemetery.

Sources

1871 births 1954 deaths People from Marion, Ohio Ohio lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Ohio 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{Ohio-Representative-stub