Profile Text
official portrait of U.S. House Speaker Martin, Jr., Bioguide.Congress
Date of Birth: November 3, 1884
Place of Birth: North Attleborough, Bristol, Massachusetts, United States
Date of Death: March 6, 1968
Place of Death: Hollywood, Florida, U.S.
Ethnicity: English, Irish
Joseph William Martin, Jr., also known as Joseph W. Martin, Jr., was an American politician. A Republican, he served a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Massachusetts, from March 4, 1925 to January 3, 1967, House Minority Leader, from January 3, 1939 to January 3, 1947, again, from January 3, 1949 to January 3, 1953, and again, from January 3, 1955 to January 3, 1959; Leader of the House Republican Conference, from January 3, 1939 to January 3, 1959; Chair of the Republican National Committee, from July 8, 1940 to December 7, 1942; and Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, from January 3, 1947 to January 3, 1949, and again, from January 3, 1953 to January 3, 1955. He was the only Republican to have served as Speaker from the period between 1931 to 1995.
He was a candidate for the Republican Party’s nomination for President of the United States in 1948 .
Speaker Martin was the son of Catherine (Katon) and Joseph William Martin. His father was born in New York, to English parents. His mother was born in New Jersey, to Irish parents.
Sources: Joseph William Martin, Jr. on the 1900 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org Joseph William Martin, Jr. on the 1910 U.S. Census – https://familysearch.org