John F. Baldwin Jr.

John F. Baldwin Jr.
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California
In office January 3, 1955 – March 9, 1966
Preceded by	Robert Condon
Succeeded by	Jerome R. Waldie
Constituency	6th district (1955–1963) 14th district (1963–1966)
Personal details
Born	(1915-06-28)June 28, 1915 Oakland, California, U.S.
Died	March 9, 1966(1966-03-09) (aged 50) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Resting place	Oakmont Memorial Park
Spouse	Mary Isaacs Baldwin ​ (m. 1944)​
Alma mater	University of California at Berkeley, UC Berkeley School of Law
Military service
Allegiance	United States of America
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1941–1946
Rank	Lieutenant Colonel
Battles/wars	World War II

John Finley Baldwin Jr. (June 28, 1915 – March 9, 1966) was an American lawyer, military officer, and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from California from 1955 to 1966. He was a civil rights activist, and studied southern history.^[1]

Born in Oakland, California, in 1915 to John Finley Baldwin and Nellie Linekin, John F. Baldwin Jr. graduated from San Ramon Valley High School located in Danville, California. He then went on to UC Berkeley, where he majored in accounting and finance. He graduated from UC Berkeley in 1935 and soon after he became the assistant manager of South-Western Publishing Co.^[2][3]

John and Mary were married at the Presidio of San Francisco in December 1944, while he was a Major in the Army and Mary was a secretary.^[4]

Baldwin joined the United States Army in 1941 and served in the area of finance, first as a training director at the Army Finance School and later with the Office of Fiscal Director. By the time of his retirement in 1946, he had attained the rank of lieutenant-colonel.^[3][5]

He then returned to school to study law, graduating from the University of California Boalt Hall School of Law in 1949.^[3]

He was elected as a Republican in 1954, and served from January 3, 1955, until his death from cancer at Bethesda Naval Hospital on March 9, 1966, aged 50.^[1][6]

Baldwin voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,^[7] 1960,^[8] and 1964,^[9] as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.^[10][11]

• John F. Baldwin Elementary School, in Danville, was named after him. John F. Baldwin Park in Concord was also established to honor him.
• John F. Baldwin Shipping Channel is named after him.

• List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)

• John F. Baldwin Jr. at Find a Grave

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress