{{short description|American politician (1866–1938)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = John Austin Keliher | image = John A Keliher Massachusetts Congressman circa 1908.png | image_size = | caption = John A. Keliher circa 1908<ref name="Whowho1908">{{Citation| title =Who's Who in State Politics, 1908 | page = 14 | publisher = Practical Politics | location = Boston| year = 1908}}</ref> | state = [[Massachusetts]] | district = [[Massachusetts's 9th congressional district|9th]] | term_start = March 4, 1903 | term_end = March 3, 1911 | preceded = [[Joseph A. Conry]] | succeeded = [[William Francis Murray]] | office2 = Member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives<ref name="Whowho1908" /> | term_start2 = | term_end2 = | predecessor2 = | successor2 = | order2 = | office3 = Member of the Massachusetts Senate<ref name="Whowho1908" /> | term_start3 = 1899 | term_end3 = 1900 | predecessor3 = | successor3 = | office4 = Sheriff of Suffolk County, Massachusetts<ref name="John1938">{{Citation| title =John A. Keliher; Sheriff in Boston Since 1917 Dies While Losing Renomination | page = 22 | work = The New York Times | date = September 22, 1938}}</ref> | term_start4 = May 3, 1917 | term_end4 = September 21, 1938 | predecessor4 = John Quinn | successor4 = [[John F. Dowd]] | office5 = Delegate to the 1917 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention<ref name="Journalof1919">{{Citation |year = 1919 | title =Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts | page = 8 | publisher = Wright & Potter printing co., state printers| location = Boston}}</ref> | term_start5 = June 6, 1917<ref name="Journalof1919" /> | term_end5 = August 13, 1919<ref>{{Citation |year = 1919 | title =Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts | pages = 865, 971 | publisher = Wright & Potter printing co., state printers| location = Boston}}</ref> | predecessor5 = | successor5 = | birth_date = {{birth date|1866|11|6}} | birth_place = [[Boston]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1938|9|21|1866|11|6}} | death_place = [[Boston]] | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] | spouse = | occupation = Real estate | profession = }}

'''John Austin Keliher''' (November 6, 1866 – September 21, 1938) was a United States [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] politician.

He was born in [[Boston, Massachusetts]]. He was elected as a Democrat to the [[United States House of Representatives]] from [[Massachusetts]] and served from March 4, 1903, to March 3, 1911.<ref name="cd">{{cite web |title=S. Doc. 58-1 - Fifty-eighth Congress. (Extraordinary session -- beginning November 9, 1903.) Official Congressional Directory for the use of the United States Congress. Compiled under the direction of the Joint Committee on Printing by A.J. Halford. Special edition. Corrections made to November 5, 1903 |url=https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/SERIALSET-04562_00_00-001-0001-0000 |website=GovInfo.gov |publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office |access-date=2 July 2023 |page=50 |date=9 November 1903}}</ref> Congressman Keliher was the uncle of Brigadier-General John J. Keliher and Rear Admiral Thomas Joseph Keliher.

==Defeats in the 1910 congressional election== In 1910 Keliher lost his bid for reelection, first losing in the Democratic primary,<ref>{{Citation | title = Both Lose Renomination: Keliher and O'Connell Defeated in Massachusetts Primaries. Majority of the Delegates to Democratic State Convention Will Go Uninstructed | page = 3 | work = The Washington Post| date = September 28, 1910 }}</ref> and in the general election as an independent candidate,<ref>{{Citation | title =Murray Speaks in His Home District: Buckley Predicts He Will Sweep District. Keliher Has Three Rallies, Two of Them in Charlestown| page = 4 | work = The Boston Daily Globe | date = November 5, 1910}}</ref> losing both times to [[William Francis Murray|William F. Murray]].<ref>{{Citation | title =Foss Wins By 22,000 In Massachusetts; But the Rest of the Democratic State Ticket Has Probably Been Defeated.| page = 2 | work = The New York Times | date = November 9, 1910}}</ref>

==Sheriff of Suffolk County== On April 11, 1917, the incumbent sheriff of Suffolk County, "Honest John" Quinn, died from diabetes.<ref>{{Citation | title = "Honest John" Quinn Is Dead: Sheriff Yields Suddenly at the Charles-St Jail Long A Familiar and Genial Figure in Boston Politics | page = 1 | work=The Boston Globe| date = April 12, 1917 }}</ref> On April 18, 1917 [[Samuel W. McCall|Governor McCall]] submitted Keliher's name to the Executive Council to fill the vacancy.<ref>{{Citation|title = Keliher Given Quinn's Berth: Sheriff Until Jan 1 With Election in Meantime Far-Reaching Political Effects Likely--Republicans Angry | page = 13 | work=The Boston Globe| date = April 19, 1917 }}</ref> Keliher's appointment was approved by the Executive Council and he was sworn into office on May 3, 1917.<ref>{{Citation|title = It's Now Sheriff John A. Keliher: Ex-Congressman Sworn In and Visits Jail Reappoints Deputies--Agrees to Sit in Constitutional Convention | page = 11 | work=The Boston Globe| date = May 4, 1917 }}</ref> On November 6, 1917<ref>{{Citation|year = 1917 | title = The Municipal Register for 1918 | page = 110 | publisher = The City of Boston | location = Boston}}</ref> Keliher was elected in his own right and re-elected in every election until 1938.<ref name="John1938" />

==1917 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention== In 1916 the Massachusetts legislature and electorate approved the calling of a Constitutional Convention.<ref>{{Citation |year = 1919 | title =Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts | pages = 7–8}}</ref> In May 1917 Keliher was elected to serve as a member of the convention, representing Massachusetts' 11th Congressional District.

==Electoral defeat and death== In September 1938 Keliher ran in the primary for renomination as sheriff of Suffolk County. After the returns showed that he was losing the election, he had a heart attack and died<ref>{{Citation| title =John A. Keliher; Sheriff in Boston Since 1917 Dies While Losing Renomination | page = 23 | work = The New York Times | date = September 22, 1938}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title =J. A Keliher, Sheriff, Dies In Bay State Suffolk County Official Had Held Post Since 1917; Congressman 4 Terms; Ran For Mayor | page = 4 | work = The Hartford Courant | location = Hartford, Connecticut | date = September 22, 1938}}</ref> in Boston.

==Bibliography== *''Journal of the Constitutional Convention of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts'' (1919) pp.&nbsp;7–8, 865, 971. *''The Municipal Register for 1918'' City of Boston (1918) p.&nbsp;110. *''Who's who in State Politics, 1908'' Practical Politics (1908) p.&nbsp;14. {{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box |state=Massachusetts |district=9 |before=[[Joseph A. Conry]] |after=[[William Francis Murray]] |years= March 4, 1903 – March 3, 1911}} {{s-end}}

== References == <references/>

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Keliher, John A.}} [[Category:1866 births]] [[Category:1938 deaths]] [[Category:Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives]] [[Category:Democratic Party Massachusetts state senators]] [[Category:Sheriffs of Suffolk County, Massachusetts]] [[Category:Members of the 1917 Massachusetts Constitutional Convention]] [[Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Massachusetts]] [[Category:19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court]] [[Category:20th-century United States representatives]]