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, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

for three terms from 1913 to 1919.

Early life and career

Born in

Marion, Ohio Marion is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Ohio, United States. The municipality is located in north-central Ohio, approximately north of Columbus. The population was 35,999 at the 2020 census, slightly down from 36,837 at the 2 ...

, 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 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 or the oil patch, includes the global processes of hydrocarbon exploration, exploration, extraction of petroleum, extraction, oil refinery, refining, Petroleum transport, transportation (of ...

. 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 {{Ohio-Representative-stub