John Finley Baldwin Jr. (June 28, 1915 – March 9, 1966) was an American lawyer, military officer, and 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 California from 1955 to 1966.

Early life

Born in

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

, in 1915 to John Finley Baldwin and Nellie Linekin, John F. Baldwin Jr. graduated from San Ramon Valley High School in

Danville, California The Town of DanvillePronounced is located in the San Ramon Valley in Contra Costa County, California, United States. It is one of the List of municipalities in California, incorporated municipalities in California that use "town" in their nam ...

. He went on to the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

, where he majored in accounting and finance and graduated in 1935. Soon after he became the assistant manager of South-Western Publishing Co. in

San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...

. Baldwin married Mary Isaacs at the

Presidio of San Francisco The Presidio of San Francisco (originally, El Presidio Real de San Francisco or The Royal Fortress of Saint Francis) is a park and former U.S. Army post on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula in San Francisco, California, and is part ...

in December 1944, while he was a major in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary 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 the United Stat ...

and she was a secretary.

Career

Baldwin joined the U.S. Army in 1941 and served in the area of finance, first as a training director at the Army Finance School and later with the Office of Fiscal Director. By the time he was discharged in 1946, he had attained the rank of lieutenant colonel.Marquis Who's Who, Inc. ''Who Was Who in American History, the Military''. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1975. P. 26 He returned to UC Berkeley to study law, graduating from its Boalt Hall School of Law in 1949.

Congress

Baldwin was elected to Congress as a Republican in 1954, was re-elected five times, and served from January 3, 1955, until his death from cancer at

Bethesda Naval Hospital Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC; formerly known as the National Naval Medical Center and colloquially referred to as Bethesda Naval Hospital, Walter Reed, or Navy Med) is a United States military medical center located in B ...

on March 9, 1966, aged 50. He voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of

1957 Events January * January 1 – The Saarland joins West Germany. * January 3 – Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch. * January 5 – South African player Russell Endean becomes the first batsman to be Dismissal (cricke ...

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 ...

, and

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the

Voting Rights Act of 1965 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson during the height of the civil rights move ...

Electoral history

Legacy

*John F. Baldwin Elementary School, in Danville, was named after him. John F. Baldwin Park in Concord was also established to honor him. * John F. Baldwin Shipping Channel is named after him.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baldwin, John Finley Jr. 1915 births 1966 deaths 20th-century American lawyers California lawyers Haas School of Business alumni People from Danville, California Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California San Francisco Bay Area politicians UC Berkeley School of Law alumni United States Army officers Military personnel from California 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives