William J. Burke

William Joseph Burke ( * September 25, 1862 in London, England; † November 7, 1925 in Callery Junction, Pennsylvania ) was an American politician. Between 1919 and 1923 he represented the State of Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Career

In 1866, William Burke came with his parents from his native England after Reynoldsville in Pennsylvania. He attended the public schools of his new home and worked with twelve years in the local coal mines. Since 1878 he worked for the railroad in Pittsburgh. Later he suggested as Republicans launched a political career. For four years he was a member of the City Council of the then independent town of Allegheny. Today, this community is a part of Pittsburgh. From 1906 to 1910 he was a member of the City Council of Pittsburgh. Since 1904, he also worked in the oil business. William Burke also became involved in the union of railwaymen and took there time to time leading positions. Between 1914 and 1918 he sat in the Senate of Pennsylvania as well as in the years 1918 and 1919 again in the City Council of Pittsburgh.

In the congressional elections of 1918, Burke was on the 33rd electoral district of Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives in Washington, DC chosen, where he became the successor of John Roger Kirkpatrick Scott on March 4, 1919. After a re-election he was able to complete in Congress until March 3, 1923 two legislative sessions. In the years 1919 and 1920, the 18th and the 19th Amendment to the Constitution were ratified. It was about the ban on the trade in alcoholic beverages or to the nationwide introduction of women's suffrage.

In 1922 Burke gave up another run for the U.S. House of Representatives. Instead, he applied unsuccessfully for a seat in the U.S. Senate. After the end of his time in the U.S. House of Representatives Burke worked again for the trade union movement. He was Chairman of the General Committee of the Brotherhood of Railroad Conductors. In addition, he was back working in the oil business and in addition in agriculture. William Burke died on November 7, 1925 on his estate in Butler County and was buried in Pittsburgh.