John F. Byrne Sr. (February 21, 1911 – August 6, 1965) was an American politician from

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 ...

who served as a Democratic member of the

Pennsylvania Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mi ...

for the 8th district from 1951 to 1952.

Early life and education

Byrne was born in Philadelphia. He attended

St. Joseph's Preparatory School St. Joseph's Preparatory School, known as "St. Joe's Prep" or simply "The Prep", is an urban, private, Catholic, college preparatory school run by the Society of Jesus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The school was founded in 1851 ...

and received a business degree from

La Salle College La Salle College (LSC; zh, t=喇沙書院, j=laa3 saa1 syu1 jyun2) is a boys' secondary school located in Kowloon City District, Hong Kong. It was established in 1932 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools, a Catholic re ...

Career

He worked as a real estate and insurance broker, and was a business partner and friend of

William J. Green Jr. William Joseph Green Jr. (March 5, 1910 – December 21, 1963) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Biography William J. Green was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of Irish immigrants. ...

, a Philadelphia congressman and Democratic party leader. In 1950, Byrne was elected to the

for the 8th district and served from 1951 to 1952. The following year, he ran for a seat on the

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...

against incumbent

Clarence K. Crossan Clarence Kennedy Crossan (April 16, 1876 – September 25, 1960) was a Philadelphia Republican politician who served for 28 years on the Philadelphia City Council. Crossan was born in Philadelphia's Fox Chase neighborhood in 1876, the son of Ken ...

. Byrne won

the election ''The Election'' () is a political drama series produced by Hong Kong Television Network (HKTV). With a budget of HK$15 million, filming started in July 2014 and wrapped up on 28 October 2014. Popularly voted to be the inaugural drama of ...

, representing

Northeast Philadelphia Northeast Philadelphia, nicknamed Northeast Philly, the Great Northeast, and known colloquially as simply "the Northeast", is a section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to the 2000 census, Northeast Philadelphia has a population of betw ...

's 10th district, as the Democrats took control of the city government for the first time in 67 years. He was re-elected to city council in 1955, this time winning one of five at-large seats. The following year, Byrne resigned his seat when Governor George M. Leader appointed him to a seat on the

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) is an agency created in 1937 to construct, finance, operate, and maintain the Pennsylvania Turnpike (both the mainline and the Northeast Extension). The commission consists of five members. Four memb ...

. In 1963, he and fellow Councilman Victor E. Moore were indicted for

perjury Perjury (also known as forswearing) is the intentional act of swearing a false oath or falsifying an affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to an official proceeding."Perjury The act or an insta ...

during a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

investigation of city government, but were both acquitted. His term on the Turnpike Commission expired in June 1965; he was still serving until a successor was appointed when he died of a heart attack that August. His son, John F. Byrne Jr., later served in the state senate.

Legacy

The John F. Byrne golf course in

was renamed in honor of Byrne.

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Byrne, John F. Sr. 1911 births 1965 deaths La Salle University alumni Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Philadelphia City Council members Politicians from Philadelphia St. Joseph's Preparatory School alumni 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly