Orrin Dubbs Bleakley | |
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| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's28th district | |
| In office March 4, 1917 – April 3, 1917 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel H. Miller |
| Succeeded by | Earl H. Beshlin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1854-05-05)May 5, 1854 Franklin, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | December 3, 1927(1927-12-03) (aged 73) |
| Political party | Republican |
Orrin Dubbs Bleakley (May 5, 1854 – December 3, 1927) was an American businessman and politician who served as aRepublican member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania for one month in 1917. He resigned his seat after a conviction for campaign finance improprieties.
Bleakley was born on May 5, 1854, inFranklin, Pennsylvania. He attended theUniversity of Bonn, inPrussia. He was engaged in banking with his father until 1876. He became interested in the production of oil and worked in the industry from 1876 to 1883. He organized the Franklin Trust Company in 1883, and became its president. He was a delegate at large to theRepublican National Convention in 1904, and served as chairman of theVenango County Republican committee.
Upon his election to Congress in November 1916, Bleakley became the first government official to fly from his home state to DC. The trip was made in a 75-horsepowerCurtiss biplane from Philadelphia, piloted by Sergeant William C. Ocker, on leave from the United States Aviation Corps at the time. The trip took 3:15 hours, including an unscheduled stop in a wheatfield inMaryland.[1]
Bleakley was elected as a Republican to theSixty-fifth Congress and served from March 4 to April 3, 1917, when he resigned without having qualified. His resignation came after he was convicted and fined under theFederal Corrupt Practices Act. Bleakley's offense—he had spent more than the allotted $5,000 on his campaign.
He resumed banking in Franklin. He died inRobinson, Illinois, on December 3, 1927. Interment in Franklin Cemetery inFranklin, Pennsylvania.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 28th congressional district 1917 | Succeeded by |