John D. Dingell | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromMichigan's15th district | |
| In office March 4, 1933 – September 19, 1955 | |
| Preceded by | District established |
| Succeeded by | John Dingell Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John David Dingell (1894-02-02)February 2, 1894 |
| Died | September 19, 1955(1955-09-19) (aged 61) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Grace Blossom Bigler |
| Children | 4 |
| Relatives | John D. Dingell Jr. (son) |
| Residence(s) | Dearborn, Michigan |
John David Dingell Sr. (/ˈdɪŋɡəl/DING-gəl; February 2, 1894 – September 19, 1955) was anAmericanpolitician who representedMichigan's 15th congressional district from 1933 to 1955. He was a member of theDemocratic Party. He was the father of thelongest-serving member of Congress, formerU.S. RepresentativeJohn Dingell.
Dingell was born inDetroit,Michigan, the son of Marie Ciesielski Opalewska and Joseph A. Dzięglewicz, who were Polish immigrants fromBączal Górny.[1][2] The family's surname ended up beinganglicized to 'Dingell'. A graduate of St. Casimir's Parochial School in Detroit, he worked as a newsboy, printer and newspaperman. He had also engaged in the construction of natural gas pipelines, was a wholesale dealer in beef and pork products and an organizer and trustee ofColorado Springs Labor College.
Dingell married Grace Blossom Bigler (1894–1962) and had four children:John Jr., Patricia Ann,[3] James, and Julè. Patricia Ann, known as Patsy, died shortly after her first birthday.[4] Dingell established his family in Detroit, where he was employed as a printer at the Detroit Free Press and actively participated in labor union organizing. Dingell suffered from asthma and tuberculosis, which caused the family to briefly relocate toColorado Springs to seektreatment there. There, John Jr. was born in 1926.[5]
Dingell first ran for office in 1924 when he ran for a seat in theColorado House of Representatives fromEl Paso County but was defeated.[6]
Following the1930 U.S. Census,Michigan gained four new seats in theU.S. House of Representatives. In 1932, Dingell was elected as aDemocrat from the newly formed 15th District in western Detroit over formerMayor of DetroitCharles Bowles.[7] He was reelected eleven times and served until his death atWalter Reed Army Hospital inWashington, D.C., at the age of 61. He is interred at theHoly Sepulchre Cemetery inSouthfield, Michigan.
At the outset of his Congressional career, Dingell was a "New Deal stalwart."[8] Reflecting the prevailing prejudices of the period, a memorable letter from Dingell to PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt on August 18, 1941, suggested that ten thousandJapanese-Hawaiian Americans beincarcerated in order to ensure "good behavior" fromJapan.[9] Following the Japaneseattack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, Dingell "demanded that [Admiral Husband]Kimmel and [General Walter]Short becourt-martialed."[8]
After the September 19, 1955, death of the elder John Dingell, aspecial election called to fill the remainder of Dingell's term was won by his son,John Jr., who took his father's place in Congress on December 13, 1955. John Dingell Jr. retired from the House of Representatives as the longest-serving member of Congress in history at 59 years and 21 days and its longest serving Dean at 20 years on January 3, 2015, and his wifeDebbie Dingell was elected to succeed him. As of 2025, the three Dingells had represented the southeastern Michigan area for 92 consecutive years.
A hallmark of their service has been a proposal for a national health insurance system, first introduced by John Sr. in 1933 and re-introduced since at every Congress by the father and then the son.
Dingell's grandson,Christopher D. Dingell, has also taken to politics, having been elected to theMichigan State Senate in 1986.
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| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by None | United States Representative for the 15th Congressional District of Michigan 1933 – 1955 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
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