James B. Beck

James Burnie Beck ( born February 13, 1822 in Dumfriesshire, Scotland, † May 3, 1890 in Washington DC ) was an American politician (Democratic Party), who represented the state of Kentucky in both chambers of Congress.

The Scot Beck emigrated in 1838 to the United States, where he was first in Wyoming County ( New York) settled. Later he moved to Lexington, Kentucky and took there a law degree from the Transylvania University on. He graduated in 1846, was admitted to the Bar Association and worked as a lawyer in Lexington.

Beck was politically active in the Democratic Party, for which he was elected in 1866 as a representative of Kentucky's seventh district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was reelected three times and finally brought it to an eight-year term of office, when he retired on March 3, 1875.

In 1876 he was a member of a commission to determine the exact border between the states of Maryland and Virginia. In the same year he was elected for Kentucky in the U.S. Senate, where he served after two re-election until his death on May 3, 1890. He was from 1885 to 1890 Chairman of the Conference of the Democrats; this was the title of the group leaders before the offices of the Majority Leader and Minority Leader were introduced. In addition, he stood before the Committee on the coastal transport routes.