John P. Saylor
Encyclopedia
John Phillips Saylor 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...

.

Saylor was born in Conemaugh Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Conemaugh Township, Somerset County, Pennsylvania
Conemaugh Township is a township in Somerset County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,452 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania Metropolitan Statistical Area...

. He graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Lancaster is a city in the south-central part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is the county seat of Lancaster County and one of the older inland cities in the United States, . With a population of 59,322, it ranks eighth in population among Pennsylvania's cities...

, in 1929, and Dickinson School of Law
Dickinson School of Law
Penn State University Dickinson School of Law is the law school of The Pennsylvania State University...

 in Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle, Pennsylvania
Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...

 in 1933. He was elected city solicitor of Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...

, in 1938 and served until 1940. He enlisted in the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...

 on August 6, 1943 and served until January 1946.

Saylor was elected as a Republican to the 81st Congress, by special election, September 13, 1949, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Robert L. Coffey
Robert L. Coffey
Robert Lewis Coffey, Jr. was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania....

. He was reelected to the twelve succeeding Congresses and served until his death in Houston, Texas
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...

. During his time in Congress he became dedicated to a number of environmental causes, including the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Ozark National Scenic Riverways Act, National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and in opposition to the Kinzua Dam
Kinzua Dam
The Kinzua Dam, in the Allegheny National Forest in Warren County, Pennsylvania, is one of the largest dams in the United States east of the Mississippi River....

 Project . He was dubbed "St. John" by environmental advocates for his dogged work on environmental issues.

In 1970 the Izaak Walton League of America bestowed its highest honor, the Founders' Award, to Saylor "for two decades of unprecedented leadership in the Congress of the United States for sound resource management, the preservation of natural scenic and cultural values, the maintenance of a quality environment, and the unalienable right of citizens to be involved in resources and environmental decisions."

Saylor died at age 65, and is buried in Grandview Cemetery, Johnstown
Grandview Cemetery, Johnstown
Grandview Cemetery is a cemetery located at 801 Millcreek Road in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.The cemetery association that operates Grandview was founded in 1885 to accommodate Johnstown's rapidly growing population...

. The John P. Saylor Trail in Gallitzin State Forest
Gallitzin State Forest
Gallitzin State Forest is a Pennsylvania State Forest in Pennsylvania Bureau of Forestry District #6. The main offices are located in Ebensburg in Cambria County, Pennsylvania in the United States....

is named after him.

Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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