John William McCormack
John William McCormack (
December 21,
1891 â€"
November 22,
1980) was an
American politician from
Boston, Massachusetts.
McCormack served as a member of
United States House of Representatives from 1928 until he retired from political life in 1971. A Democrat, McCormack served as House Majority Leader thrice, the first time from 1940 to 1947, the second time from 1949 to 1953, and again from 1955 to 1962. He served as
Speaker of the House of Representatives from 1961 until 1971.
His tenure was marked with an undercurrent of dissent among younger, liberal Democratic members who chomped at the bit for committee assignments and complained that power was centered in a small, old group of Democratic leaders. McCormack also presided over the issue of refusing to seat Representative
Adam Clayton Powell (
D-
NY). The incident resulted in the Speaker being named in a noted
United States Supreme Court case,
Powell v. McCormack, with Powell prevailing.
Between the
assassination of John F. Kennedy on
November 22,
1963 and the swearing-in of
Hubert Humphrey as Vice President on
January 20,
1965, McCormack was the first person in the line of succession for the Presidency, much like vice president, and he received
Secret Service protection. When Kennedy died in 1963, McCormack recalled his experiences serving as next-in-line in an article he wrote for
The Boston Globe. He died
November 22,
1980In 1983, the
University of Massachusetts Boston established the
John W. McCormack Institute of Public Affairs, named in McCormack's honor. In 2003 it was expanded into the
John W. McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies.
Acting President of the United States (He was the acting VP)
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