Maurice Connolly | |
|---|---|
 Maurice Connolly, 1913 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's3rd district | |
| In office March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1915 | |
| Preceded by | Charles E. Pickett |
| Succeeded by | Burton E. Sweet |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1877-03-13)March 13, 1877 Dubuque, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | May 28, 1921(1921-05-28) (aged 44) Indian Head, Maryland, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Plane crash |
| Resting place | Mount Olivet Cemetery,Key West, Iowa, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Rank | Major |
| Battles/wars | |
Maurice Connolly (March 13, 1877 – May 28, 1921) was elected in 1912 to a single term as a Democratic member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's 3rd congressional district. After giving up his House seat in an unsuccessful bid for election to the U.S. Senate in 1914, Connolly then served as an aviation officer inWorld War I and died in a plane crash in 1921.
He was born inDubuque, Iowa on March 13, 1877, as the son of a successful carriage maker, Tom Connolly, and his wife Ellen Brown Connolly.[1] Connolly attended the common schools. He was graduated fromCornell University,Ithaca, New York, in 1897, where he was a member of theQuill and Dagger society. In 1898, at age twenty-one, he graduated from theNew York University School of Law, inNew York City. He was admitted to the bar in 1899 and did postgraduate work atBalliol College,Oxford, England, and theUniversity of Heidelberg,Germany. He returned to Dubuque when his father died suddenly in 1903, and assumed his ownership and management of the Connolly Carriage Company.[1] Later, Connolly engaged in the insurance business and banking.
Connolly ran as a Democrat for Congress in 1912, against incumbent RepublicanCharles E. Pickett. Connolly's hometown of Dubuque was a Democratic-leaning city at the edge of Iowa's strongly-Republican3rd congressional district, which in Connolly's lifetime hadelected only Republicans. Indeed, in every election since 1890, Republicans captured either all or all but one of Iowa's eleven seats in the U.S. House, while holding each seat in the Senate. When Iowa Republicans were divided betweenTheodore Roosevelt'sBull Moose Party candidacy and Republican Party nomineeWilliam Howard Taft, Connolly tied himself closely to Democratic presidential candidateWoodrow Wilson.[1] Along with incumbent DemocratIrvin S. Pepper inIowa's 2nd congressional district and DemocratSanford Kirkpatrick inIowa's 6th congressional district, Connolly was elected in 1912 to the Sixty-third Congress.
In 1914 Iowans had their first opportunity to directly elect a U.S. Senator; until the ratification of theSeventeenth Amendment to the United States Constitution in 1913, the U.S. Constitution had authorized only state legislatures to choose senators. In 1913, 37-year-old Congressman Pepper was the presumptive favorite to win the Democratic Senate nomination,[2] to challenge incumbent Republican SenatorAlbert B. Cummins, but Pepper died unexpectedly in December 1913. Connolly ran in the Democratic primary for the nomination.[3] He defeated Edwin T. Meredith in the primary, but was defeated by Senator Cummins in the general election.
Connolly was replaced in the House by RepublicanBurton E. Sweet, who had defeated Democrat J.C. Murtagh. In all, Connolly served in Congress from March 4, 1913 to March 3, 1915.
After leaving Congress, Connolly returned to Dubuque to run his family's carriage company. He also became an executive of Dubuque Fire and Insurance Company.[4] Connolly was an at-large delegate to the1916 Democratic National Convention. President Wilson appointed him as postmaster of Dubuque.[4]
After the United States entered World War I, Connolly enlisted, earning his flight wings and serving as captain, then major, in theAviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps.[4] He served as adjutant, executive officer and commanding officer atChanute Field inRantoul, Illinois,Wilbur Wright Field inDayton, Ohio, andHazelhurst Field inMineola, New York.[4] When thearmistice was declared, he was assigned to Washington, where he assisted Major GeneralWilliam L. Kenly, first head of theUnited States Army Air Service.[5] Connolly also flew in one of the "flying circuses" of fliers performing to raise funds for the Liberty Loan program.[5]
Connolly and future New York City MayorFiorello H. La Guardia were the only former congressmen to earn their wings in World War I.[5]
Following the war, Connolly became the Washington representative for theCurtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company.[6] He was killed in an airplane accident nearIndian Head, Maryland on May 28, 1921.[4] He was one of two civilian passengers killed along with five air corps officers, including Medal of Honor recipient Lt. Col.Archie Miller, when their armyCurtiss Eagle converted air ambulance crashed during a wind and electrical storm when returning toWashington D.C.[4] At the time, it was considered the worst aviation accident in U.S. history.[4]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| First | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromIowa (Class 3) 1914 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIowa's 3rd congressional district 1913–1915 | Succeeded by |
