Matthew Anthony Dunn (August 15, 1886 – February 13, 1942) was a Democratic 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

Matthew A. Dunn was born in

Braddock, Pennsylvania Braddock is a Borough (Pennsylvania), borough located in the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, upstream from the mouth of the Monongahela River. The population was 1,721 as of the 2020 United States ...

. As a result of numerous accidents he lost the sight of his left

eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

at the age of twelve and that of his right eye at the age of twenty. He attended the School for the Blind in Pittsburgh and graduated from Overbrook School for the Blind in

Overbrook, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Overbrook is a historic neighborhood of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is situated in the northwest of West Philadelphia. The area's housing ranges from large, old homes to rowhouses to three- and four-story apartment buildings. Physical sett ...

, in 1909. He was engaged in the sale of periodicals and

newspapers A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

in 1907 and 1908, and in the

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brokerage business from 1920 to 1924. He was 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 ...

from 1926 to 1932. Dunn was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-third and to the three succeeding Congresses. He served as Chairman of the

United States House Committee on the Census The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one of the most influential and powerful pan ...

during the Seventy-sixth Congress. He was not a candidate for renomination in

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 ...

due to ill health, and thus retired from active business. He died in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, and was interred in

Homewood Cemetery Homewood Cemetery is a historic urban cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in Point Breeze and is bordered by Frick Park, the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill, and the smaller Smithfield Cemetery. It was established i ...

External links

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunn, Matthew A. American politicians with disabilities Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives American blind people Blind politicians 1886 births 1942 deaths Politicians from Pittsburgh People from Braddock, Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania Burials at Homewood Cemetery 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives