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George M. O'Brien | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromIllinois | |
| In office January 3, 1973 – July 17, 1986 | |
| Preceded by | New Constituency (Redistricting) |
| Succeeded by | Jack Davis |
| Constituency | 17th District (1973-1983) 4th District (1983-1986) |
| Member of theIllinois House of Representatives from the 41st district | |
| In office January 13, 1971 – January 3, 1973 Serving with John J. Houlihan,W. Robert Blair | |
| Preceded by | William G. Barr |
| Succeeded by | George R. Hudson Goudyloch E. Dyer J. Glenn Schneider |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1917-06-17)June 17, 1917 |
| Died | July 17, 1986(1986-07-17) (aged 69) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Education | Northwestern University (BA) Yale University (LLB) |
George Miller O'Brien (June 17, 1917 – July 17, 1986) was aRepublican member of theUnited States House of Representatives. He representedIllinois'17th and4th districts from 1973 until his death from prostate cancer inBethesda, Maryland in 1986.
O'Brien was born inChicago, Illinois, to a middle-classIrish Catholic family. He attended a private Catholic school before enteringNorthwestern University. He was a member of theSigma Chi fraternity. O'Brien earned a law degree fromYale Law School in 1947. However, he did not get to practice law until returning fromWorld War II. During the war, O'Brien rose to the rank oflieutenant colonel while fighting inGermany. Beginning in 1946, he practiced law privately. In 1970, he was appointed to the state's Legislative Advisory Committee, and in 1971 he was elected to theIllinois House of Representatives.
After just one term in the state House, O'Brien successfully ran for Congress in 1973. O'Brien was a centrist who was popular among members of both parties. Following redistricting in 1982, he and fellow RepublicanEd Derwinski were drawn into the same district. The redrawn district retained Derwinski's number, the 4th, and Derwinski had 14 years more seniority than O'Brien. However, the new district was geographically more O'Brien's district than Derwinski's. O'Brien won the primary, and then general elections. In April 1986, O'Brien discovered that he had prostate cancer, which forced him to give up his bid for an eighth term. He succumbed to the disease just two months later. Fellow Illinois Republican CongressmanJohn E. Grotberg too died of cancer just four months later.
| Illinois House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of theIllinois House of Representatives from the 41st district 1971–1973 Served alongside:John J. Houlihan,W. Robert Blair | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. Representative of Illinois' 17th Congressional District 1973–1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | U.S. Representative of Illinois' 4th Congressional District 1983–1986 | Succeeded by |
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| National | |
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