- James J. Davis
Infobox Officeholder
name =James John Davis
order =2nd
office =United States Secretary of Labor
term_start =March 5 1921
term_end =November 30 1930
deputy =
president =Warren Harding Calvin Coolidge Herbert Hoover
predecessor =William B. Wilson
successor =William N. Doak
order2 =United States Senator fromPennsylvania
term_start2 =December 2 1930
term_end2 =January 3 1945
predecessor2 =Joseph R. Grundy
successor2 =Francis J. Myers
birth_date =October 27 1873
birth_place =Tredegar Wales ,United Kingdom
death_date =November 22 1947
death_place =Takoma Park, Maryland
nationality =
party =Republican
spouse =
relations =
children =
residence =
alma_mater =
occupation =
profession =
religion =
website =
footnotes =James John Davis (
October 27 1873 –November 22 1947 ) was an American steel worker and Republican Party politician inPittsburgh, Pennsylvania . He served as U.S. Secretary of Labor and representedPennsylvania in theUnited States Senate . He was also known by the nicknames of the "Iron Puddler" and "Puddler Jim."Early life and career
Born as James John Davies in
Tredegar ,Wales , he emigrated with his parents, David James Davies and Esther Ford Nicholls Davies, to theUnited States in 1881 at the age of eight.They settled in
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and later inSharon, Pennsylvania . He was apprenticed as a puddler's assistant in asteel mill, and as a result, acquired his nickname. In 1893, he moved toElwood, Indiana , and served as city clerk from 1898 to 1902. From 1903 to 1907, he served as Recorder ofMadison County, Indiana , before returning to Pittsburgh. He personally signed his name as James J. Davies even though his surname had been Americanized to Davis and he became well known through his Americanized surname. He was married and had five children.Later career
Davis served as
United States Secretary of Labor from 1921 to 1930 under PresidentsWarren G. Harding ,Calvin Coolidge , andHerbert Hoover . He is one of only three Cabinet officers in U.S. history to hold the same post under three consecutive Presidents. The other two Cabinet officers to accomplish this were Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson and Secretary of the TreasuryAndrew W. Mellon . During his tenure, he focused onimmigration , then a Labor Department responsibility, and established theUnited States Border Patrol and proposed restrictions in immigration quotas. At the urging of the iron and steel workers union, he successfully urgedU.S. Steel to abandon the 12-hour workday.He resigned as Secretary of Labor upon his election to the United States Senate from
Pennsylvania , accepting the seat denied toWilliam S. Vare . In 1922, he published his autobiography, The Iron Puddler. During his tenure in the Senate, he co-sponsored theDavis-Bacon Act withNew York CongressmanRobert L. Bacon . He was defeated for re-election in 1944.Delta Sigma Phi Fraternity inititated Davis as its only honorary member in 1923 at the request of the Omega chapter at theUniversity of Pittsburgh .Davis joined the Loyal Order of Moose in 1906 as its 247th member and staged a successful reorganization. He rose to become the
Director-General and took the Order internationally toBermuda , Britain andCanada . In 1926, he founded the Grand Lodge of Britain at his birthplace inTredegar ,South Wales .Death
Davis died in
Takoma Park, Maryland , following a heart attack, aged 74, and is buried at Uniondale Cemetery in Pittsburgh.References
* [http://www.dol.gov/asp/programs/history/davis.htm U.S. Department of Labor Biography]
*CongBio|D000111|name=DAVIS, James John|inline=1External links
* [http://www.mooseintl.org Moose international in the United States]
* [http://www.mooseintl.org.uk Moose International in the United Kingdom]
*gutenberg author| id=James+J.+Davis | name=James J. Davis
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