John Olver

Who is John Olver?

John Walter Olver is an American politician who was the U.S. Representative for Massachusetts's 1st congressional district from 1991 to 2013. Raised on a farm in Pennsylvania, Olver graduated from college at the age of 18 and went on to earn a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and later taught chemistry at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for eight years.

He served in both chambers of the Massachusetts General Court, being elected to the Massachusetts House of Representatives in 1968, and the Massachusetts Senate in 1972. He ran in a 1991 special election to succeed 17-term incumbent Congressman Silvio O. Conte, who died in office. He was the first Democrat to ever represent the 1st congressional district.

Olver announced that he would not seek re-election in 2012, and retired at the end of his eleventh term in Congress. He was succeeded by fellow Congressman Richard Neal, who was redistricted from Massachusetts's 2nd congressional district.