Thomas O'Malley

Thomas David Patrick O'Malley Sr. (March 24, 1903December 19, 1979) was an American Democratic politician from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He served three terms in the United States House of Representatives, representing Wisconsin's 5th congressional district from 1933 through 1939, and was later an appointee in the United States Department of Labor. His father, Thomas J. O'Malley, was the 26th lieutenant governor of Wisconsin. Biography Thomas O'Malley was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on March 24, 1903. He was raised and educated in Milwaukee, before attending Loyola University Chicago and the Y.M.C.A. College of Liberal Arts in Chicago. At an early age he became engaged in politics with the Democratic Party, due to his father's political activitiy. He first sought elected office in 1928, running for United States House of Representatives in Wisconsin's 5th congressional district. He prevailed in the Democratic primary, but came in a distant third in the general election, behind the Socialist incumbent, Victor L. Berger, and the Republican victor, William H. Stafford. He made another attempt in 1930, but lost again to the Republican Stafford. Two years later, O'Malley was elected as a delegate to the 1932 Democratic National Convention. He was one of only two delegates from Wisconsin who refused to vote for Franklin D. Roosevelt, remaining loyal to Al Smith. At the Fall general election, O'Malley ran again for Congress, and this time prevailed in the Democratic wave election, and went on to serve in the 73rd United States Congress.