James F. O'Connor
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMontana's2nd district
In office January 3, 1937 – January 15, 1945
Preceded by	Roy E. Ayers
Succeeded by	Wesley A. D'Ewart
Member of theMontana House of Representatives
In office 1917–1918
Personal details
Born	(1878-05-07)May 7, 1878 nearCalifornia Junction, Iowa, United States
Died	January 15, 1945(1945-01-15) (aged 66) Washington, D.C., United States
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	University of Nebraska–Lincoln

James Francis O'Connor (May 7, 1878 – January 15, 1945) was aU.S. representative fromMontana.

O'Connor was born on a farm nearCalifornia Junction, Iowa, and attended grade school and normal school in Iowa. He graduated from the law department of theUniversity of Nebraska–Lincoln in 1904, wasadmitted to the bar and commenced practice inLivingston, Montana in 1905. O'Connor self-identified as being Irish Catholic.^[1]

In addition to practicing law, O'Connor engaged in stock raising, ranching, and banking. He served as judge of Montana's sixth judicial district in 1912. He served in theMontana House of Representatives from 1917 to 1918 and was the Speaker of the House.

O'Connor served as special counsel for theFederal Trade Commission inWashington, D.C., in 1918. He also served as member of Park County High School Board for a number of years. Following the death of United States SenatorThomas J. Walsh, O'Connor ran for the Democratic nomination to succeed Walsh in the1934 special election, challengingJames E. Murray andJohn E. Erickson, who, asGovernor of Montana, had appointed himself to the seat. O'Connor lost to Murray, but finished ahead of Erickson. Murray went on to win the general election.

In1936 incumbent United States CongressmanRoy E. Ayers ran forGovernor and O'Connor ran to succeed him inMontana's 2nd congressional district. O'Connor won the Democratic primary and defeated T. S. Stockdahl, theRepublican nominee, in a landslide. O'Connor was narrowly re-elected in1938 over W. C. Husband when Republicans nationwide gained eighty-one House seats. He won re-election in1940 in a landslide against Melvin N. Hoiness, and again in1942 against F. F. Haynes by a much narrower margin. O'Connor was an isolationist during the buildup to World War II, and he voted against providing aid to Britain in 1941.^[2]

O'Connor served as the Chairman of theHouse Committee on Indian Affairs during the78th United States Congress, from 1943 to 1945. He defeated Haynes once again in1944, winning his fifth term.

O'Connor died in Washington, D.C., on January 15, 1945, just weeks after beginning his fifth term. He was interred in Mount Calvary Cemetery,Livingston, Montana.

• List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1900–1949)

• United States Congress."James F. O'Connor (id: O000029)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

 This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.

• James Francis O'Connor Papers (1937-1945), Merrill G. Burlingame Special Collections Library,Montana State UniversityCollection website

• 1878 births
• 1945 deaths
• Montana state court judges
• Democratic Party members of the Montana House of Representatives
• Speakers of the Montana House of Representatives
• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Montana
• University of Nebraska College of Law alumni
• 20th-century United States representatives
• 20th-century members of the Montana Legislature

• Articles with short description
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• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress