John Bonifas Bennett (January 10, 1904 – August 9, 1964) was an American lawyer and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

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 ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

. He 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 ...

from 1947 to 1964.

Early life and education

Bennett was born in

Garden, Michigan :''There is also Garden City in Wayne County. '' Garden is a village in Delta County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 174 at the 2020 census. The village is located within Garden Township. M-183 runs through the village, c ...

, his mother was an immigrant from

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

. He attended the public schools, and graduated from Watersmeet High School. He graduated from

Marquette University Law School Marquette University Law School is the Law school in the United States, law school of Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It is one of two law schools in Wisconsin and the only private law school in the state. Founded in 1892 as the Mil ...

in 1925 and took a

post-graduate Postgraduate education, graduate education, or graduate school consists of academic or professional degrees, certificates, diplomas, or other qualifications usually pursued by post-secondary students who have earned an undergraduate (bachelor' ...

course at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

Law School in 1926. He was admitted to the

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar ** Chocolate bar * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

in 1925 and to the Michigan bar in 1926. He practiced

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...

Ontonagon, Michigan Ontonagon ( ) is a village in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,285 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontonagon County, and is the only incorporated place within the county. The village is loca ...

, from 1926 through 1942. He was

prosecuting attorney A prosecutor is a legal representative of the prosecution in states with either the adversarial system, which is adopted in common law, or inquisitorial system, which is adopted in civil law. The prosecution is the legal party responsible ...

of Ontonagon County from 1929 to 1934 and the deputy commissioner of the Michigan

Department of Labor and Industry The Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry is a cabinet-level agency in the Government of Pennsylvania. The agency is charged with the task of overseeing the health and safety of workers, enforcement of the Pennsylvania Uniform Construction ...

from 1935 to 1937.

Tenure in Congress

Bennett was unsuccessful in his first two attempts for a seat in the

, losing in 1938 and 1940 to incumbent

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 ...

Frank E. Hook Frank Eugene Hook (May 26, 1893 – June 21, 1982) was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan. Early life Hook was born in L'Anse, Michigan and graduated from L'Anse High School in 1912. He attended the College of Law of the Univer ...

. In 1942 Bennett defeated Hook and was elected as a Republican from

Michigan's 12th congressional district Michigan's 12th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Michigan. The district was first created during the reapportionment and redistricting after the 1890 census. From 2003 to 2013, it was located in Detroit's inner subu ...

to the 78th Congress, serving from January 3, 1943, to January 3, 1945. In 1944 Bennett lost the election to Hook. Two years later in 1946 he returned to Congress once again, having been unsuccessfully challenged by

Emil Hurja Emil Edward Hurja (January 22, 1892 – May 30, 1953) was an American newspaper editor and political consultant. Hurja was a pioneer of political opinion polling and played an advisory role during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was ...

in the Republican primary. He was subsequently re-elected to the eight succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1947, until his death from cancer in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town, several incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D ...

, in August 1964. In Congress, Bennett was a moderate Republican who voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

, but voted in favor of 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution as well as the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

shortly before his death at age 60. He is interred in

Gate of Heaven Cemetery Gate of Heaven Cemetery, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of New York City, was established in 1917 at 10 West Stevens Ave. in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, as a Catholic burial site. Among its famous residents is baseb ...

Silver Spring, Maryland Silver Spring is a census-designated place (CDP) in southeastern Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, near Washington, D.C. Although officially Unincorporated area, unincorporated, it is an edge city with a population of 81,015 at the 2020 ...

References

External links

* *
John B. Bennett
at ''The Political Graveyard'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, John Bonifas 1904 births 1964 deaths People from Delta County, Michigan Michigan lawyers Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan 20th-century American lawyers American people of Luxembourgian descent Marquette University Law School alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni Deaths from cancer in Maryland Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Silver Spring, Maryland) People from Ontonagon, Michigan 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Early life and education

Tenure in Congress

See also

References

External links