John W. Byrnes
circa 1956
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromWisconsin's8th district
In office January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1973
Preceded by	LaVern Dilweg
Succeeded by	Harold Vernon Froehlich
Member of theWisconsin Senate from the2nd district
In office 1941–1945
Preceded by	Michael F. Kresky Jr.
Succeeded by	Harold A. Lytie
Personal details
Born	John William Byrnes (1913-06-12)June 12, 1913 Green Bay, Wisconsin
Died	January 12, 1985(1985-01-12) (aged 71) Marshfield, Wisconsin
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Barbara Preston Byrnes
Children	6 (3 sons, 3 daughters)
Alma mater	University of Wisconsin, Madison (BA,LLB)
Occupation	Attorney

John William Byrnes (June 12, 1913 – January 12, 1985) was an American politician who served as aU.S. representative fromWisconsin.

Byrnes was theU.S. representative forWisconsin's 8th congressional district from 1945 to 1973. During this time he was the chairman of theHouse Republican Policy Committee from 1959 to 1965 and was later the ranking minority member of theCommittee on Ways and Means from 1963 to 1972.^[1]

Byrnes was born inGreen Bay, Wisconsin, the son of Harriet (Schumacher) and Charles W. Byrnes.^[2] Byrnes contractedpolio as a small child.^[3] He received his bachelor's degree from theUniversity of Wisconsin inMadison in 1936, and then attendedits law school.^[4] After graduation, Byrnes practiced law in Green Bay, and served as deputy commissioner of the state's department of banking from 1938 to 1941. He served in thestate senate from 1941 to 1945, representing the2nd District.^[5]

Byrnes waselected in 1944 as aRepublican to the79th Congress from Wisconsin's8th district. He defeated one-term incumbentLaVern Dilweg, a notable former professionalfootball player with theGreen Bay Packers. Byrnes was reelected to the thirteen succeeding Congresses, and served 28 years from January 1945 to January 1973, making him the 8th district's longest serving representative. In 1964, the Wisconsin delegates to the1964 Republican National Convention were pledged to support Byrnes, but he released the delegates to support the candidates they individually chose.^[6] He did not seek a fifteenth term in 1972 to the93rd Congress. Byrnes voted in favor of theCivil Rights Acts of 1957,^[7]1960,^[8][9]1964,^[10][11] and1968,^[12][13] as well as theestablishment of the Wisconsin Islands Wilderness,^[14] the24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and theVoting Rights Act of 1965.^[15][16][17]

After Congress, stayed in Washington to practice law and continued to reside inArlington, Virginia. While traveling to Wisconsin for a medical check-up at theMarshfield Clinic, he had astroke at theCentral Wisconsin Airport inMosinee^[18] and died several days later inMarshfield on January 12, 1985.^[3][19] He was buried in Green Bay at Allouez Catholic Cemetery.

• United States Congress."John W. Byrnes (id: B001216)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Byrnes at Politicalgraveyard.com
• John W. Byrnes atFind a Grave

• 1913 births
• 1985 deaths
• Republican Party Wisconsin state senators
• Candidates in the 1964 United States presidential election
• Politicians from Green Bay, Wisconsin
• Wisconsin lawyers
• University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni
• University of Wisconsin Law School alumni
• Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Wisconsin
• 20th-century American lawyers
• American lawyers with disabilities
• American politicians with disabilities
• 20th-century Wisconsin politicians
• 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• 20th-century members of the Wisconsin Legislature

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