John Lesinski Sr. (January 3, 1885 – May 27, 1950) was a politician 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 was the father of John Lesinski Jr., who succeeded him 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 ...

Early life

Lesinski was born in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, fifth-most populous city in Pennsylvania and the most populous in Northwestern Pen ...

on January 3, 1885, and his parents moved their family to

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

three months later. He attended the school of

St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church St. Albertus Roman Catholic Church is in the Forest Park neighborhood of Detroit, Michigan. It was designated a Michigan State Historic Site in 1974 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978. History The rise of Detroit br ...

SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary was a four-year private Polish seminary in Orchard Lake, Michigan, United States. The seminary, taking its name from Saints Cyril and Methodius, was founded in 1885 in Detroit, Michigan, to prepare candidates for ...

in Orchard Lake, and

Detroit Business University The Detroit Business Institute (previously known as Detroit Business University and Goldsmith, Bryant & Stratton Business College) is an educational institute focusing on medical training founded in Detroit, Michigan. The school has held several ...

Start of career

He engaged extensively in the building and real estate business in Detroit; established lumber and supply companies in

Hamtramck Hamtramck ( ; ; ; ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An enclave of Detroit, Hamtramck is located roughly north of downtown Detroit, and is surrounded by Detroit on most sides. As of the 2020 census, the city had a po ...

and Dearborn areas of Detroit. He was president of the Polish Citizens' Committee of Detroit from 1919 to 1932, and was credited with recruiting thousands of Polish-Americans and Polish-Canadians to join the military and fight against the Axis during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In addition, he was state commissioner in charge of the sale of bonds which raised funds for rebuilding Poland when the country was re-formed following

, for which he was awarded the

Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta (, ) is a Polish state order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievements in the fields of education, science, sport, culture, ...

by the Polish Government. He was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

s in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House. * January 28 – Death and state funer ...

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...

, and

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...

. He was also a delegate to the Democratic State conventions in 1936, 1940, and 1944.

Congress

In 1932, Lesinski was elected as a

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 ...

and the first person to represent

Michigan's 16th congressional district Michigan's 16th congressional district is an obsolete United States congressional district in Michigan. It covered the communities of Dearborn, Downriver and Monroe County.Alamanac of American Politics 2002, p816 The first Representative to ...

to the

73rd United States Congress The 73rd 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 March 4, 1933, ...

, and was reelected to the eight succeeding Congresses, serving in the

U.S. House 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 March 4, 1933, until his death. He served as chairman of the Committee on Invalid Pensions in the 74th through 79th Congresses; of the Committee on Immigration and Naturalization in the 79th Congress, and of the

Committee on Education and Labor The Committee on Education and Workforce is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. There are 45 members of this committee. Since 2025, the chair of the Education and Work ...

in the 81st Congress. Lesinski died in

Dearborn, Michigan Dearborn is a city in Wayne County, Michigan, Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Dearborn borders Detroit to the south and west, roughly west of downtown Detroit. In the 2020 United States ...

on May 27, 1950, and was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Detroit, Michigan.

Family

Lesinski was married three times. His first wife, Stella died in 1919, and his second wife, Barbara, died in 1937. His third wife Estelle Geisinger, survived him. Lesinski was the father of nine children, seven of whom survived to adulthood—Joan, John, Maxine, Delphine, Raymond, Beverly, and Edwin.

References

Sources

Books

Newspapers

External links

John Lesinski
at The Political Graveyard * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lesinski, John Sr. 1885 births 1950 deaths Detroit Business Institute alumni SS. Cyril and Methodius Seminary alumni Politicians from Detroit American politicians of Polish descent Recipients of the Order of Polonia Restituta Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Michigan Politicians from Erie, Pennsylvania Catholics from Pennsylvania Catholics from Michigan 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives