Doctor Ivor David Fenton was a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

Early life

Ivor Fenton was born in Mahanoy City

Mahanoy City, Pennsylvania

Mahanoy City is a borough located north by west of Reading and 13 miles southwest of Hazleton, in northern Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania or the southern Coal Region. The name "Mahanoy" is believed to be a variation of the Native American word 'Maghonioy', or "the salt deposits"...

 (Buck Mountain), Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

. He attended Bucknell University

Bucknell University

Bucknell University is a private liberal arts university located alongside the West Branch Susquehanna River in the rolling countryside of Central Pennsylvania in the town of Lewisburg, 30 miles southeast of Williamsport and 60 miles north of Harrisburg. The university consists of the College of...

 in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Lewisburg, Pennsylvania

Lewisburg is a borough in Union County, Pennsylvania, United States, south by southeast of Williamsport and north of Harrisburg. In the past, it was the commercial center for a fertile grain and general farming region. The population was 5,620 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Union...

, and graduated from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

, in 1912. He served an internship at Ashland State Hospital in Pennsylvania in 1912 and 1913, and then commenced the practice of medicine in Mahanoy City.

Military service

He enlisted in the United States Army

United States Army

The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...

 Medical Corps

Medical Corps (United States Army)

The Medical Corps of the U.S. Army is a staff corps of the U.S. Army Medical Department consisting of commissioned medical officers – physicians with either an MD or a DO degree, at least one year of post-graduate clinical training, and a state medical license.The MC traces its earliest origins...

 and was commissioned a lieutenant on August 8, 1917, rising later to the rank of captain. He served twenty months (eleven overseas) with the 315th Infantry, 79th Infantry Division

U.S. 79th Infantry Division

The 79th Infantry Division The 79th Infantry Division The 79th Infantry Division ("Cross of Lorraine" was a unit of the United States Army in World War I and World War II.-World War I:*Activated: August 1917*Overseas: July 1918*Major Operations: Meuse-Argonne...

. After his military service he returned to Mahanoy City to resume his medical practice.

Public service

Fenton was elected as a Republican to the 76th United States Congress

76th United States Congress

The Seventy-sixth United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1939 to January 3, 1941, during the seventh and...

 and to the eleven succeeding Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1962

United States House election, 1962

The U.S. House election, 1962 was an election for the United States House of Representatives in 1962, which occurred in the middle of President John F. Kennedy's term...

 after re-districting forced him into an election against fellow incumbent George Rhodes.

After his time in Congress, he served as medical advisor to Secretary of Welfare of the State of Pennsylvania and as a medical consultant to State General Hospital, State of Pennsylvania. He retired in January 1968, and lived in Mahonoy City until his death in Sunbury, Pennsylvania

Sunbury, Pennsylvania

Sunbury is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city is located on the east bank of the Susquehanna River, just downstream of the confluence of its main and West branches. The population was 9,905 at the 2010 census...

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