Joseph P. O'Hara
Joseph Patrick O'Hara was a U.S. Representative from Minnesota.Early life
O'Hara was born in Tipton, Cedar County, Iowa, on January 23, 1895. He attended the public schools and graduated from Spirit Lake, Iowa, High School. During the First World War, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant of the Infantry in the Officers’ Reserve Corps and later promoted to captain in the Quartermaster Corps, serving from May 13, 1917, to August 15, 1919. With overseas service, he was commissioned as a major of Infantry in the Reserve Corps.
O'Hara also attended Inns of Court, London, England, and graduated from the law department of University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana. In 1920, he was admitted to the bar in 1921, and was commenced practice in Glencoe, Minnesota.Careers
O'Hara served as an attorney for various villages, cities, towns, and school districts, as well as county attorney of McLeod County.
He was then elected as a Republican to the 77th, 78th, 79th, 80th, 81st, 82nd, 83rd, 84th and the 85th congresses on January 3, 1941 - January 3, 1959. O'Hara voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
He was not a candidate for reelection in 1958 to the 86th congress, but he resumed the practice of law in Washington, D.C., where he resided. He died in Bethesda, MD, on March 4, 1975. His interment is in Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Silver Spring, Maryland.
