Joseph Daniel Early (January 31, 1933 – November 9, 2012) was an American politician. He represented the third district of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1975 to 1993.

Early life

Early was born in

Worcester, Massachusetts Worcester ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Massachusetts, second-most populous city in the U.S. state of Massachusetts and the list of United States cities by population, 113th most populous city in the United States. Named after Worcester ...

, on January 31, 1933. He attended St. John's High School, and received a B.S. degree from College of the Holy Cross, graduating in 1955. He served in

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

, 1955–1957. Following his time in the Navy he was employed as a high school teacher and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach in

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

and Spencer.

Political career

Early served six terms in the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

from 1963 to 1974. He was a delegate to Massachusetts State Democratic conventions from 1964 to 1970, and was elected as a Democrat to the 94th and to the eight succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1993). He lost re-election in

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

to Republican Peter I. Blute, in the aftermath of his implication in the House banking scandal and a nepotism scandal involving his brother George's employment in the Congressional Folding Room. During his time in congress Early was regarded as one of the most "obscure" house representatives, neglecting to hold a press conference until 1990 and never hiring a press secretary. He died on November 9, 2012.Former Congressman Joseph Early Dies
/ref> His son, Joseph Early, Jr., today serves as the Worcester County District Attorney.

References

External links

* 1933 births 2012 deaths Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Worcester, Massachusetts Holy Cross Crusaders men's basketball players College of the Holy Cross alumni United States Navy sailors Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts American men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{Massachusetts-MARepresentative-stub