John Richard Farr (July 18, 1857 – December 11, 1933) 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 ...
.
Biography
John R. Farr was born in
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...
, and attended Scranton's School of the Lackawanna and
Phillips Academy
Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...
in
Andover, Massachusetts
Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...
. He graduated from
Lafayette College
Lafayette College is a private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 18 ...
in
Easton, Pennsylvania
Easton is a city in and the county seat of Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River and the Delawa ...
. He worked as a
newsboy,
printer
Printer may refer to:
Technology
* Printer (publishing), a person
* Printer (computing), a hardware device
* Optical printer for motion picture films
People
* Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist
* James Printer (1640 ...
, and
publisher
Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
. He was active in the real estate business.
He served four years on the Scranton School Board. He 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 ...
in 1891, 1893, 1895, 1897, and 1899, serving as speaker of the 1899 session. As a state legislator he introduced bills to make public education compulsory, and to provide free textbooks to public schools; both measures passed.
Farr was an unsuccessful candidate for election in
1908
This is the longest year in either the Julian or Gregorian calendars, having a duration of 31622401.38 seconds of Terrestrial Time (or ephemeris time), measured according to the definition of mean solar time.
Events
January
* January ...
, but was elected as a Republican to the
Sixty-second and to the three succeeding Congresses. He successfully contested the election of Patrick McLane to the
Sixty-sixth Congress, though his success came almost at the end of McLane's term.
He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in
1920
Events January
* January 1
** Polish–Soviet War: The Russian Red Army increases its troops along the Polish border from 4 divisions to 20.
** Kauniainen in Finland, completely surrounded by the city of Espoo, secedes from Espoo as its ow ...
,
1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be on J ...
, and
1932
Events January
* January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel.
* January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...
.
He resumed the real estate business in Scranton, where he died, aged 76, after suffering a heart attack.
Interred in Shady Lane Cemetery in
Chinchilla, Pennsylvania.
Gallery
File:PostcardJohnRFarrCampaignWhatHeDidForThePeople.jpg, Campaign material for Farr (year uncertain)
File:PostcardJohnRFarrCampaignWhenWeWereKids.jpg, Other side of campaign postcard shown above
See also
*
Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Sources
The Political Graveyard
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farr, John Richard
1857 births
1933 deaths
Republican Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Speakers of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Politicians from Scranton, Pennsylvania
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania
20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
19th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly