James H. Duff | |
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United States Senator from Pennsylvania |
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In office January 3, 1951 – January 3, 1957 |
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Preceded by | Francis J. Myers |
Succeeded by | Joseph S. Clark |
34th Governor of Pennsylvania | |
In office January 21, 1947 – January 16, 1951 |
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Lieutenant | Daniel B. Strickler |
Preceded by | John C. Bell, Jr. |
Succeeded by | John S. Fine |
Attorney General of Pennsylvania | |
In office January 19, 1943 – January 21, 1947 |
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Governor |
Edward Martin John C. Bell, Jr. |
Preceded by | E. Russell Shockley |
Succeeded by | T. McKeen Chidsey |
Personal details | |
Born |
James Henderson Duff January 21, 1883 Carnegie, Pennsylvania |
Died | December 20, 1969 Washington, DC |
(aged 86)
Political party | Republican |
Spouse(s) | Jean Taylor |
Alma mater |
Princeton University University of Pittsburgh School of Law |
Profession | Attorney, Politician |
Religion | Presbyterian |
James Henderson "Jim" Duff (January 21, 1883 – December 20, 1969) was an American lawyer and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1951 to 1957. Previously he had served as the 34th Governor of Pennsylvania from 1947 to 1951.
James Duff was born in Mansfield (now Carnegie), a suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The oldest of four children, he was the son of Rev. Joseph Miller and Margaret (née Morgan) Duff. His father was a Presbyterian minister for forty years, and his paternal grandfather was the first college-educated doctor in western Pennsylvania. Two of his great-grandfathers were members of the Provincial Council of Pennsylvania between 1683 and 1717.
After graduating at the top of his class at Carnegie High School, Duff attended Princeton University in New Jersey, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1904. Originally he had intended to study medicine but, after winning two medals in public speaking at Princeton, decided to study law instead. He attended the University of Pennsylvania Law School in Philadelphia until 1906, when he transferred to the University of Pittsburgh Law School to be closer to home. In 1907, he received his law degree and was admitted to the bar. He married Jean Kerr Taylor in 1909; the couple had only one child who died in infancy, but they raised a nephew after the boy's father died.
Duff practiced law in Pittsburgh for thirty-six years, establishing the law firm of Duff, Scott and Smith. He also served as solicitor of Carnegie, and was an elector for Theodore Roosevelt in the 1912 presidential election. In addition to practicing law, Duff was engaged in the oil business for several years. He began by buying an oil driller's rig and taking a lease on some property about five miles from his home, where he struck oil. He subsequently engaged in ventures in other parts of western Pennsylvania as well as Mexico. He also served as president of the Criterion Oil Company and of the Westmoreland Natural Gas Company. He lost his fortune in the 1929 stock market crash, taking several years to recover financially. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1932, 1936, and 1940.