{{short description|American politician}} {{more citations needed|date=April 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | name=John Patrick Higgins | image=John P Higgins.jpg | state1= [[Massachusetts]] | district1= {{ushr|MA|11|11th}} | term_start1= January 3, 1935 | term_end1=September 30, 1937 | preceded1= [[John J. Douglass]] | succeeded1= [[Thomas A. Flaherty]] | office2= Member of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] | term2= 1929-1934 | preceded2= | succeeded2= | birth_date={{birth date|1893|2|19}} | birth_place=[[Boston, Massachusetts]], U.S. | death_date={{death date and age|1955|8|2|1893|2|19}} | death_place=Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | resting_place= | spouse= Elinor McNamara | children=1 | alma_mater=[[Harvard University]]<br>[[Boston University Law School]]<br>[[Northeastern College of Law]] | profession=Chemist, Attorney, Jurist | party= | branch= [[United States Navy]] | service_years=1917–1919 | rank=[[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] | unit= | battles =[[World War I]] | awards= }} '''John Patrick Higgins''' (February 19, 1893 &ndash; August 2, 1955) was an officer in the [[United States Navy]], [[chemist]], attorney, and [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. Representative]] from [[Massachusetts]].

Higgins was born in [[Boston, Massachusetts]], where he attended the public schools and graduated from [[Harvard University]] in 1917. During the [[First World War]], he served as an [[Ensign (rank)|Ensign]] in the United States Navy from 1917 until 1919. Returning to civilian life, Higgins was employed as a chemist from 1919 until 1922. He then resumed his academic studies, enrolling in the [[Boston University Law School]] and [[Northeastern College of Law]] in 1925 and 1926. He was admitted to the bar in 1927 and commenced practice in Boston.

Entering politics, Higgins was a member of the [[Massachusetts House of Representatives]] from 1929 through 1934. He was elected as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] to the [[74th United States Congress|Seventy-fourth Congress]], was unopposed in his re-election to the [[75th United States Congress|Seventy-fifth Congress]] and served from January 3, 1935, until his resignation on September 30, 1937.

Higgins was appointed by Gov. [[Charles F. Hurley]] on October 1, 1937, as chief justice of the [[Massachusetts Superior Court]],{{sfn|Lapomarda|1992|p=80}} in which capacity he served until his death in 1955. He was the first Irish Catholic to be chief justice and the youngest person ever appointed to the post.{{sfn|Lapomarda|1992|p=80}} He was a [[Knight of Columbus]].{{sfn|Lapomarda|1992|p=80}}

Appointed in January 1946 by the Justice Department with the approval of President Truman to be the United States judge on the 11 country [[International Military Tribunal for the Far East]] at [[Tokyo, Japan]], Judge Higgins resigned in June 1946 to return to his family and his duties as Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court.

During his Congressional career, Congressman Higgins advocated for improved working conditions and benefits in America and against religious persecution in Mexico.

Higgins died in Boston and was interred in [[St. Joseph Cemetery (West Roxbury, Massachusetts)|St. Joseph Cemetery]], [[West Roxbury, Massachusetts]].

==See also== * [[1929–1930 Massachusetts legislature]] * [[1933–1934 Massachusetts legislature]]

==References== {{reflist}}

==Works cited== *{{cite book | title = The Knights of Columbus in Massachusetts | first = Vincent A. | last = Lapomarda | publisher = Knights of Columbus Massachusetts State Council | edition = second | year = 1992 | location = Norwood, Massachusetts }}

==External links== {{CongBio|H000579}} {{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Massachusetts | district=11 | before=[[John J. Douglass]] | after= [[Thomas A. Flaherty]] | years=January 3, 1935 – September 30, 1937 }} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before= }} {{s-ttl|title=Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Superior Court|years=October 1, 1937 – August 2, 1955}} {{s-aft|after =}} {{s-bef|before= None}} {{s-ttl|title=judge of the <br>[[International Military Tribunal for the Far East]]|years=January 3, 1946 – June 1946}} {{s-aft|after= None}} {{end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, John Patrick}} [[Category:1893 births]] [[Category:1955 deaths]] [[Category:Democratic Party members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives]] [[Category:United States Navy officers]] [[Category:Boston University School of Law alumni]] [[Category:Harvard University alumni]] [[Category:Politicians from Boston]] [[Category:Judges of the International Military Tribunal for the Far East]] [[Category:Massachusetts Superior Court justices]] [[Category:Military personnel from Massachusetts]] [[Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Massachusetts]] [[Category:Northeastern University School of Law alumni]] [[Category:Lawyers from Boston]] [[Category:American judges of international courts and tribunals]] [[Category:20th-century Massachusetts state court judges]] [[Category:20th-century American lawyers]] [[Category:Burials at St. Joseph Cemetery (West Roxbury, Massachusetts)]] [[Category:20th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court]] [[Category:20th-century United States representatives]]