James G. Fulton

James G. Fulton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 27th district
In office January 3, 1953 – October 6, 1971
Preceded by	Augustine B. Kelley
Succeeded by	William Sheldrick Conover
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 31st district
In office January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1953
Preceded by	Herman P. Eberharter
Succeeded by	District eliminated
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
In office 1939–1940
Personal details
Born	March 1, 1903 Dormont, Pennsylvania
Died	October 6, 1971 (aged 68) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Republican
Alma mater	Carnegie Institute of Technology Pennsylvania State College Harvard Law School
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Navy
Rank	Lieutenant
Battles/wars	World War II

James Grove (Jim) Fulton (March 1, 1903 – October 6, 1971) was an American politician who served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania from 1945 to 1971.

Early life and education

James G. Fulton was born in Dormont, Pennsylvania. He attended the Fine Arts Department of the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and graduated from Pennsylvania State College at State College, Pennsylvania in 1924 and from Harvard Law School as a Doctor of Laws in 1927. He was a member of the Allegheny County Board of Law Examiners from 1934 to 1942. He served in the Pennsylvania State Senate in 1939 and 1940. He was solicitor for Dormont Borough in 1942. He worked as publisher of the Mount Lebanon News and several other newspapers. He was a member of the American Judicature Society, United World Federalists, American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Military service

During the Second World War he enlisted in the United States Naval Reserve in 1942 and served in the South Pacific as a lieutenant until discharged in 1945.

United States House of Representatives

Representative Fulton and other members of the House Committee on Science and Astronautics visit the Marshall Space Flight Center on March 9, 1962 to gather first-hand information of the nation's space exploration program.

In 1944, while still in the service, Fulton was elected as a Republican to the 79th United States Congress, and reelected to the 13 succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1945, until his death from a heart attack in Washington, D.C. on October 6, 1971. While in Congress he was delegated to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Employment at Havana in 1947 and 1948, and to the 14th General Assembly of United Nations in 1959. He was a delegate to 1956 Republican National Convention. In addition he served as an adviser on space to the United States Mission at the United Nations from 1960 to 1969.

Space Shuttle

Fulton is credited with saving the Space Shuttle program. After a heart attack in 1970, Fulton emerged from an ambulance to propose a compromise that eventually saved the funding for the program.^[1]

Legacy

He died of a heart attack on October 6, 1971 in Washington, D.C.^[2] He is buried in Mt. Lebanon Cemetery in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

As a memorial to Fulton, the Pittsburgh Foundation has created The James G. Fulton Legislative Internship Program in his honor.^[3]

The Congressman James Grove Fulton Memorial Post Office Building in Pittsburgh is named after him.^[4]

References

• United States Congress. "James G. Fulton (id: F000422)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-07
• The Political Graveyard

Notes

1. SpaceRef
2. "Milestones, Oct. 18, 1971". Time Magazine. October 18, 1971.
3. Pittsburgh Foundation
4. Washington Post