J. Earl Major
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James Earl Major (January 5, 1887 - January 4, 1972) was a U.S. Representative from Illinois.
Born in Donellson, Illinois, Major attended the common and high schools of his native city. He was graduated from Brown's Business College in 1907 and from the Illinois College of Law at Chicago in 1909. He was admitted to the bar in 1910 and commenced the practice of law in Hillsboro, Illinois. He served as prosecuting attorney of Montgomery County from 1912 to 1920.
Major was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1923-March 3, 1925). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1924 to the Sixty-ninth Congress. He resumed the practice of the legal profession in Hillsboro, Illinois.
Major was elected to the Seventieth Congress (March 4, 1927-March 3, 1929). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1928 to the Seventy-first Congress.
Major was elected to the Seventy-second Congress. He was reelected to the Seventy-third Congress and served from March 4, 1931, until his resignation October 6, 1933, having been appointed to the bench. He was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1933 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against Harold Louderback, judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. He was appointed as a judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Illinois and served until March 23, 1937, when he was appointed as a judge of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, in which capacity he served until March 23, 1956, when he voluntarily retired. He served as chief judge of the court from November 17, 1948, until September 1, 1954. After retirement on March 23, 1956, served part time as senior judge on the Court of Appeals and various United States district courts. Resided in Hillsboro, Illinois, until his death there January 4, 1972. He was interred in Oak Grove Cemetery.
