John Armand Lafore Jr. (May 25, 1905 – January 24, 1993) was an American politician who was a Republican member of the

U.S. House of Representatives 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

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

. He was also president of the

American Kennel Club The American Kennel Club (AKC) is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit breed registry, registry of purebred dog pedigree (animal), pedigrees in the United States. In addition to maintaining its pedigree registry, this kennel club also promotes and sanctions eve ...

Biography

Lafore was born in Bala, Pennsylvania on May 25, 1905. He was a student at

Swarthmore College Swarthmore College ( , ) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1864, with its first classes held in 1869, Swarthmore is one of the e ...

in 1923 and 1925 and the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

in 1925 and 1926. One of his brothers, Laurence Lafore, became known for his work as an American historian. He was an automobile dealer in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, from 1932 to 1957. He was the comptroller of

Montgomery County Montgomery County may refer to: Australia * The former name of Montgomery Land District, Tasmania United Kingdom * The historic county of Montgomeryshire, Wales, also called County of Montgomery United States * Montgomery County, Alabama * Montg ...

, and chairman of the

Lower Merion Township Lower Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merioneth in north Wales. Merioneth is an English-language transc ...

Committee. He served as a lieutenant commander in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1942 to 1945. Lafore was a member of the

Pennsylvania State House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 1950 to 1957. He was elected as a Republican to the

85th Congress The 85th 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, 1957 ...

to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of

Samuel K. McConnell Jr. Samuel Kerns McConnell Jr. (April 6, 1901 – April 11, 1985) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography Samuel Kerns McConnell Jr. was born in Eddystone, Pennsylvania. He graduated from the ...

He was reelected to the

86th Congress The 86th 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, 1959 ...

, but was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1960. Lafore voted in favor of the

Civil Rights Act of 1960 The Civil Rights Act of 1960 () is a United States federal law that established federal inspection of local voter registration polls and introduced penalties for anyone who obstructed someone's attempt to register to vote. It dealt primarily wi ...

. After his time in Congress, Lafore was the president of an aircraft company in

Willow Grove, Pennsylvania Willow Grove is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. A community in Philadelphia's northern suburbs, the population was 13,730 at the 2020 census. It is located in Abington Township and Upper More ...

, from 1961 to 1964, and as vice president of

Day and Zimmerman Day & Zimmermann is a privately held company in the fields of construction, engineering, staffing and ammunition manufacture, operating out of 150 locations worldwide. Its corporate office is in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Day & Zimmermann has ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

from 1965 to 1966. Lafore served as executive vice president of the

from 1968 to 1971 and president from 1971 to 1979. He died on January 24, 1993. Mr. Lafore was an ardent breeder and fancier of both Keeshonden and Collies during his lifetime.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lafore, John A. Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives University of Pennsylvania alumni 1905 births 1993 deaths American automobile salespeople Swarthmore College alumni Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives Delta Upsilon members