Representative James George Donovan

James George Donovan (December 15, 1898 – April 6, 1987) was an American lawyer and politician from New York who served three terms as a Representative from New York in the United States Congress from 1951 to 1957. A member of the Democratic Party for most of his political career, Donovan was active in Tammany Hall politics and contributed to the legislative process during a significant period in mid-twentieth-century American history.

Donovan was born on December 15, 1898, in Clinton, Massachusetts. He pursued technical studies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology from 1916 to 1917 before entering military service. During World War I, he served in the United States Navy, an experience that preceded his later legal and political career. After the war, he continued his education at Harvard University, from which he graduated in 1922. He then moved to New York for legal studies and completed his law degree at Columbia Law School in 1924, after which he was admitted to the bar and began practicing law.

Settling in New York City, Donovan became active in Democratic politics, aligning himself with the Tammany Hall organization that dominated Manhattan’s Democratic Party at the time. His early public service included appointment as Undersheriff of New York County, a position he held from 1934 to 1941. In this role he was involved in the administration of the county sheriff’s office during a period of substantial political and social change in the city. Building on this local experience, he won election to the New York State Senate, representing the 16th District, and served as a state senator in 1943 and 1944.

In 1950, in an effort to unseat long-serving American Labor Party congressman Vito Marcantonio, Donovan ran for the United States House of Representatives from New York on both the Democratic and Republican party ballot lines. He was elected to the 82nd Congress and subsequently won reelection to the 83rd and 84th Congresses, serving from January 3, 1951, to January 3, 1957. During his three terms in the House of Representatives, Donovan participated in the democratic process and represented the interests of his New York constituents at a time marked by the early Cold War, the Korean War, and domestic debates over labor, housing, and urban policy. Although primarily identified as a Democrat, his cross-endorsement and later affiliation reflected the complex party dynamics of New York City politics in this era.

Donovan’s congressional career came to an end following the 1956 election cycle. Having been denied renomination by Tammany Hall, he sought reelection as a Republican but was defeated by Democrat Alfred E. Santangelo. His service in Congress thus concluded on January 3, 1957, after six years in the House.

After leaving Congress, Donovan continued his involvement in public affairs. In 1957 he was appointed New York State Director of the Federal Housing Administration, a position that placed him at the center of federal housing and mortgage policy implementation in the state. Following this service, he resumed the private practice of law and maintained a law office in New York City until his retirement in 1965.

James George Donovan died on April 6, 1987, in New York City. He was buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. His career reflected a trajectory from military service and elite education to local and state office, and ultimately to three terms in the U.S. House of Representatives during a pivotal period in American political history.