Background
Green was born on March 5, 1910, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of William Joseph Green, a saloon keeper, and Annie Theresa Duffy, both Irish immigrants.
Green was born on March 5, 1910, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of William Joseph Green, a saloon keeper, and Annie Theresa Duffy, both Irish immigrants.
Green graduated from St. Joseph's Preparatory School but left St. Joseph's College after two years (1930-1931) to enter politics.
Green's family was Irish-Catholic Republican, but he became a Democrat in 1932 under the influence of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the New Deal. During the 1930's Green held several government positions, including insurance examiner for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and U. S. chief deputy marshall. He also operated a small insurance business in a desultory fashion. From March to December 1944 Green served in the army as a private in the Quartermaster Corps. While in the army he ran for Congress, and although barred by military regulations from campaigning, he won easily. In 1946, however, he lost his seat to Republican George W. Sarbacher, Jr. In 1948, Green was re-elected and served until his death. For ten of those years he was also chairman of Philadelphia's Democratic Committee. In 1951, the stocky, pink-faced Green shaped a Democratic coalition comprising ward politicians and Philadelphia blue bloods such as Richardson Dilworth and Joseph S. Clark. The coalition became one of the nation's most powerful political machines. Green was a two-fisted disciplinarian in party matters but resented the term "boss, " preferring instead "chairman of the board. " At the 1956 Democratic National Convention, Green's support was crucial to Adlai Stevenson's winning the presidential nomination from Averell Harriman. His loyalty to the party was legendary. In the 1960 presidential election, his Philadelphia organization delivered a 331, 000 majority for John F. Kennedy. As a result, Green became a close friend of Kennedy. In Congress, Green led Philadelphia's six-representative delegation. He served first on the Armed Services Committee of the House and later on the Committee on Ways and Means, where he was able to control important committee assignments. In 1956, a federal grand jury indicted Green on charges of conspiracy to defraud the government by accepting a bribe from a contractor who was to build an Army Signal Corps depot in Tobyhanna, Pennsylvania. Green was acquitted by a federal jury in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. In December 1963 Green was stricken with a gall bladder ailment while on his way to the funeral of ex-Governor Herbert H. Lehman of New York. He died after a brief illness on December 21, 1963. Three thousand mourners attended his funeral, including President Lyndon B. Johnson and Senator Robert F. Kennedy.
On September 25, 1937, Green married his childhood sweetheart, Mary E. Kelly; they had six children. His son and namesake succeeded him in Congress and in 1980 became mayor of Philadelphia.
He is an American politician from Pennsylvania.
He was an American politician who served as the 35th President of the United States from January 1961 until his assassination in November 1963.
