John R. Farr

John Richard Farr (July 18, 1857 – December 11, 1933) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Biography

John R. Farr was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania and attended the School of the Lackawanna there, and Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. He graduated from Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. He worked as a newsboy, printer, and publisher. He was active in the real estate business.

He served four years on the Scranton School Board. He was a member of the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1891, 1893, 1895, 1897, and 1899, serving as speaker of the 1899 session. As a state legislator he introduced bills to make public education compulsory, and to provide free textbooks to public schools; both measures passed.^[1]

Farr was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1908, but was elected as a Republican to the Sixty-second and to the three succeeding Congresses. He successfully contested the election of Patrick McLane to the Sixty-sixth Congress, though his success came almost at the end of McLane's term.^[1] He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1920, 1930, and 1932.

He resumed the real estate business in Scranton, where he died, aged 76, after suffering a heart attack.^[1] Interred in Shady Lane Cemetery in Chinchilla, Pennsylvania.

Gallery

• 
  Campaign material for Farr (year uncertain)
• 
  Other side of campaign postcard shown above

See also

• Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives

Sources

• United States Congress. "John R. Farr (id: F000029)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. 
• The Political Graveyard

Footnotes

1. 1 2 3 "John R. Farr dead; an ex-legislator". New York Times. 12 December 1933. p. 23.  |access-date= requires |url= (help)

Speakers of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives (since 1791)
Bingham Wynkoop Latimer Evans Weaver Snyder Porter Snyder Boileau Engle Weber Tod R. Smith St. Clair Holgate Hill Davidson Hill J. Lawrence Gilmore J. Lawrence Sutherland Ritner Middleswarth F. Smith Laporte Findley Anderson W. Patterson J. Thompson Middleswarth Dewart Hopkins Crabb Snowden H. Wright Snowden F. Patterson Cooper Packer McCalmont Cessna Rhey Schell Chase Strong R. Wright Getz Longaker W. Lawrence Davis Rowe Cessna Johnson Olmstead Kelley Glass Davis Clark Strang Webb Elliott McCormick S. Patterson Myer Long Hewitt Faunce Graham Boyer C. Thompson Walton Boyer Farr Marshall Walton McClain Cox Shreve Alter Ambler Baldwin Spangler Whitaker Goodnough Bluett McClure Hess Goodnough Talbot Sarig Furman Turner Kilroy Fiss Lichtenwalter Sorg C. Smith Andrews Helm Andrews Helm Hamilton Lee Fineman Lee Fineman Irvis Seltzer Ryan Irvis Manderino O'Donnell DeWeese Ryan Perzel O'Brien McCall S. Smith Turzai