Joseph Marmaduke Pratt (September 4, 1891–July 19, 1946) 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...

.

Joseph M. Pratt was born in Paterson, New Jersey

Paterson, New Jersey

Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...

. He moved with his parents to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...

, in 1892. He graduated from Temple University

Temple University

Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...

 in Philadelphia in 1919. He engaged in the manufacture of industrial and marine products. He was a member of the Republican City Committee of Philadelphia from 1937 to 1946.

Pratt was elected as a Republican to the Seventy-eighth

78th United States Congress

The Seventy-eighth 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, 1943 to January 3, 1945, during the last two years...

 Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of James P. McGranery

James P. McGranery

James Patrick McGranery was an American lawyer and politician.-Biography:Born in Philadelphia, he served in World War I as an observation balloon pilot with the United States Army Air Service, and as an adjutant in the One Hundred and Eleventh Infantry...

. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1944. He resumed his former business pursuits in Philadelphia. He received the Republican nomination for State senator in the second senatorial district of Pennsylvania in 1946 but died in Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C.

Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 that same year while on a business trip. Interment in Arlington Cemetery in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania.

Sources

• The Political Graveyard