Ralph Edwin CHURCH, Congress, IL (1883-1950)

CHURCH Ralph Edwin , a Representative from Illinois; born on a farm near Catlin, Vermilion County, Ill., on May 5, 1883; attended the public schools; was graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor in 1907 and from the law department of Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill., in 1909; was admitted to the bar in 1909 and commenced practice in Chicago, Ill.; elected to the State house of representatives in 1916, resigning during the First World War to attend the Reserve Officers' Training Camp; again a member of the State house of representatives 1917-1932; lieutenant commander in the United States Naval Reserve 1938-1941; elected as a Republican to the Seventy-fourth and to the two succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1935-January 3, 1941); was not a candidate for renomination in 1940, but was an unsuccessful candidate for the nomination for United States Senator; delegate to the Interparliamentary Conference at Oslo, Norway, in 1939; elected to the Seventy-eighth and to the three succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1943- March 21, 1950); died on Mar. 21, 1950, while appearing before the Committee on Expenditures in the Executive Departments, in the House Office Building, Washington, D.C.; interment in Memorial Park, Skokie, Ill.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present