Representative Robert Grant Furlong

Robert Grant Furlong (January 4, 1886 – March 19, 1973) was an American physician and Democratic politician who served one term as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1943 to 1945. His congressional service took place during the Second World War, a significant period in American history, during which he participated in the legislative process and represented the interests of his constituents in the Seventy-eighth Congress.

Furlong was born on January 4, 1886, in Roscoe, Washington County, Pennsylvania. He was educated in the local schools and pursued teacher training at the State Teachers College in California, Pennsylvania, from which he graduated in 1904. After completing his teacher education, he continued his studies in medicine and enrolled at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, earning his medical degree in 1909. This combination of training in both education and medicine shaped his early professional life and later public service.

Following his graduation from the State Teachers College, Furlong taught school in Roscoe, Pennsylvania, in 1904 and 1905. After receiving his medical degree from Jefferson Medical College, he began the practice of medicine in Donora, Pennsylvania, in 1910. He maintained a medical practice in Donora for nearly six decades, from 1910 until 1968, becoming a long-standing and familiar physician in the community.

During World War I, Furlong entered military service and served as a first lieutenant with the 280th Ambulance Company of the Twentieth Division. His wartime service as a medical officer reflected both his professional training and his commitment to national service. After the war, he returned to Donora and resumed his medical practice while increasingly engaging in local public affairs.

Furlong’s political career began at the municipal level. He served as burgess of Donora, a position comparable to mayor, from 1922 to 1926, and again in 1941 and 1942. In addition to his municipal responsibilities, he held a federal appointment as postmaster of Donora from 1933 to 1938. These roles established him as a prominent local leader and provided administrative and governmental experience that would later support his candidacy for higher office.

In 1942, Furlong was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-eighth Congress and served as a Representative from Pennsylvania from January 3, 1943, to January 3, 1945. His single term in the U.S. House of Representatives coincided with the height of World War II, and he contributed to the legislative process during this critical period in American and world history. A member of the Democratic Party, he participated in the work of Congress on behalf of his district and the nation. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1944 and thus concluded his congressional service at the end of his term.

After leaving Congress, Furlong returned to Pennsylvania and resumed his medical practice in Donora. He also continued his public service at the county level, being elected sheriff of Washington County, Pennsylvania. He served as sheriff from 1945 to 1961, overseeing law enforcement responsibilities in the county for sixteen years. Throughout this time, he maintained his longstanding role as a physician, continuing to practice medicine in Donora until 1968.

Robert Grant Furlong died on March 19, 1973, in Donora, Pennsylvania. His life encompassed careers in education, medicine, military service, and public office at the municipal, county, and federal levels, reflecting a sustained commitment to his community and to public service over many decades.