Representative Benjamin Martin Golder

Benjamin Martin Golder (December 23, 1891 – December 30, 1946) was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Fourth District from 1925 to 1933. He served four terms in Congress during a significant period in American history, contributing to the legislative process and representing the interests of his constituents as a member of the Republican Party.

Golder was born in Alliance, New Jersey, a community in Pittsgrove Township, Salem County, on December 23, 1891. In 1893 he moved with his parents to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where he was raised and educated. He pursued legal studies at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, graduating from its law department in 1913. Admitted to the bar, he began the practice of law in Philadelphia, establishing the professional foundation that would support his later political and public service career. He was of Jewish heritage and later appeared in listings of Jewish members of the United States Congress.

Golder entered public life at an early age. He was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and served there from 1916 to 1924. His tenure in the state legislature coincided with the World War I era and the early years of Prohibition, giving him experience with complex issues of state and national policy. During World War I he enlisted in the Naval Aviation Service, reflecting the broader mobilization of American professionals into military service. He served until the end of the conflict and was honorably discharged with the rank of ensign after the Armistice, then returned to Philadelphia and resumed his legal and political activities.

In 1924 Golder was elected as a Republican to the 69th Congress, taking office on March 4, 1925, as the representative of Pennsylvania’s Fourth Congressional District. He was subsequently reelected, serving continuously in the United States House of Representatives from 1925 to 1933. His four terms in office spanned the latter part of the Roaring Twenties and the onset of the Great Depression, a period marked by major economic and social change. As a member of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Martin Golder participated in the democratic process, engaged in national legislative deliberations, and represented the interests of his Philadelphia-area constituents within the broader framework of Republican Party policies of the era.

Golder’s congressional career came to an end when he was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1932, a year in which the Republican Party suffered substantial losses amid the economic crisis. He remained active in public affairs and later sought a return to Congress, running unsuccessfully for election in 1940. Between and after these campaigns, he resumed the full-time practice of law in Philadelphia, maintaining his professional standing at the bar while continuing to be identified with Republican politics and civic life in the city.

With the outbreak of World War II, Golder again entered military service. On February 5, 1943, he was commissioned a captain in the United States Army. Drawing on his prior wartime experience and legal background, he served in the Army during the conflict and advanced in rank, being discharged as a lieutenant colonel on July 1, 1945. His service in both World War I and World War II reflected a sustained commitment to national defense and public duty beyond his legislative career.

In his personal life, Golder married Peggy Mastbaum in 1930. She was the daughter of Etta Wedell Mastbaum and Jules E. Mastbaum, a prominent Philadelphia theater owner and philanthropist. Golder was also the younger brother of Frank A. Golder (1877–1929), a noted historian and academic expert on the history of Imperial Russia, which linked the congressman to the broader intellectual and cultural life of his time. These family connections underscored his place within Philadelphia’s professional and civic elite.

Benjamin Martin Golder died at his home in Philadelphia on December 30, 1946, following a brief illness. He was interred at Mount Sinai Cemetery in Philadelphia. His career encompassed service in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, four terms in the United States Congress representing Pennsylvania’s Fourth District from 1925 to 1933, and commissioned service in both the Naval Aviation Service during World War I and the United States Army during World War II, marking a lifetime of engagement in law, politics, and military service.