David John Lewis | |
|---|---|
 Lewis (c. 1911) | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMaryland's6th district | |
| In office March 4, 1931 – January 3, 1939 | |
| Preceded by | Frederick Nicholas Zihlman |
| Succeeded by | William Devereux Byron |
| In office March 4, 1911 – March 3, 1917 | |
| Preceded by | George Alexander Pearre |
| Succeeded by | Frederick Nicholas Zihlman |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1869-05-01)May 1, 1869 Nutals Bank,Centre County, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | August 12, 1952(1952-08-12) (aged 83) Cumberland, Maryland, U.S. |
| Resting place | Hill Crest Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Known for | Introducing theSocial Security Act to theHouse Of Representatives |
| Signature |  |
David John Lewis (May 1, 1869 – August 12, 1952) was an American politician fromMaryland, serving in theMaryland State Senate and theUnited States House of Representatives.
Born nearOsceola Mills,Centre County, Pennsylvania, toWelsh immigrants,[1] Lewis worked in the local coal mines from 1878 to 1892.[2] He studied law and Latin in his spare time, was admitted to the bar in 1892, and commenced practice inCumberland, Maryland.[2][3]
Lewis served as a member of theMaryland State Senate from 1902 to 1906,[2][3] and was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election to the Sixty-first Congress in 1908.[2] In 1910, he was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-second, Sixty-third, and Sixty-fourth Congresses, serving thesixth district of Maryland from March 4, 1911, to March 3, 1917.[2][3] During the Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth Congresses, he served as chairman of theHouse Committee on Labor.[2] He was not a candidate for renomination in 1916, but was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for election to the United States Senate.[2]
From April 1917 to March 1925, Lewis was a member of theUnited States Tariff Commission.[2] He was again an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for the United States Senate in 1922, and resumed the practice of law in Cumberland.[2] He was again elected to the Seventy-second and to the three succeeding Congresses, serving the sixth district of Maryland from March 4, 1931, to January 3, 1939, but was not a candidate for renomination in 1938, having run for senator, challenging incumbentMillard Tydings in the Democratic primary.[2] Lewis was more sympathetic to theNew Deal than Tydings and won the backing of PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt. Nevertheless, his third bid for the Senate was again unsuccessful, and instead he served as a member of theNational Mediation Board from 1939 to 1943.[2] He died in Cumberland on August 12, 1952, and is interred in Hillcrest Cemetery.[3]
David John Lewis was the leading expert on social insurance legislation on the House Ways & Means Committee. He introduced the Social Security bill into the House on January 17, 1935.[3][4] However, Chairman Doughton, exercising what he took to be the Chairman's privileges, made a copy of Lewis' bill and submitted it himself.[4] Then he persuaded the House clerk to give him a lower number than Lewis' copy.[4] Newspapers then began calling the bill "The Wagner-Doughton bill."[4] When Lewis found out, he sputtered and swore, then went to work to understand every sentence and master the arguments in favor of the bill.[4] And when David Lewis walked down the aisle of the House to debate on the bill's behalf, he received a standing ovation.[4]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromMaryland (Class 1) 1916 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Representative of the 6th Congressional District of Maryland 1911–1917 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Representative of the 6th Congressional District of Maryland 1931–1939 | Succeeded by |
| Education and Labor (1867–1883) |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Education (1883–1947) | ||
| Labor (1883–1947) | ||
| Education and Labor* (1947–) | ||
| Note | * Alternately namedEconomic and Educational Opportunities in 104th Congress andEducation and the Workforce in 105th through 109th and 112th through 115th Congresses. | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
