Richard OLNEY, Congress, MA (1871-1939)

OLNEY, Richard, a Representative from Massachusetts; born in Milton, Stafford County, N.H., January 5, 1871; attended the public schools and Leicester Academy; was graduated from Brown University, Providence, R.I., in 1892; wool merchant; member of the State house of representatives in 1902; chairman of selectmen of Leicester in 1902 and 1903; unsuccessful candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1903; member of the Massachusetts Minimum Wage Commission in 1911; delegate to the Democratic National Convention at Baltimore in 1912; elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-fourth, Sixty-fifth, and Sixty-sixth Congresses (March 4, 1915-March 3, 1921); unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1920 to the Sixty-seventh Congress; appointed a member of the World War Foreign Debt Commission in February 1923 and reappointed by President Coolidge in 1925; chairman of the State parole board 1932-1937; chairman of the State Commission of the Necessaries of Life from 1938 until his death at Boston, Mass., on January 15, 1939; interment in Cherry Valley Cemetery, Leicester, Mass.

Bibliography

Eggert, Gerald G. “Richard Olney and the Income Tax Cases.” Mississippi Valley Historical Review 48 (June 1961): 24-41; James, Henry. Richard Olney and his Public Service. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1923.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present