Frederick Van Ness Bradley

Who was Frederick Van Ness Bradley?

Frederick Van Ness Bradley, commonly known as Fred Bradley, was a politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.

Bradley was born in Chicago and moved to Rogers City, Michigan, in 1910 where he attended the public schools, graduating from Rogers City High School. He attended Montclair Academy in Montclair, New Jersey and served in the Student Army Training Corps at Plattsburgh, New York, in 1918. He graduated from Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, in 1921 and worked as a salesman with the Michigan Limestone and Chemical Company in Buffalo, New York from 1921 to 1923, and as purchasing agent from 1928 to 1938. He was also a purchasing agent with Bradley Transportation Company in Rogers City, Michigan from 1924 to 1938.

In 1938, Bradley defeated incumbent Democratic U.S. Representative John Luecke to be elected as a Republican from Michigan's 11th congressional district to the 76th Congress. He was subsequently re-elected to the four succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1939, until his death at New London, Connecticut, while there as a member of the Board of Visitors to the United States Coast Guard Academy. He was also chairman of the Committee on Merchant Marine and Fisheries in the 80th Congress.