Arthur Daniel Healey

Who was Arthur Daniel Healey?

Arthur Daniel Healey was a Democratic U.S. Representative from Massachusetts from 1933 to 1942 and then served as a United States federal judge until his death.

Born in Somerville, Massachusetts, Healey attended public schools and graduated from Somerville Latin School in 1908. He attended Dartmouth College in 1909 and 1910. Healey received an LL.B. from Boston University School of Law in 1913, was admitted to the bar in 1914, and engaged in the private practice of law in Boston, Massachusetts from 1914 to 1917. On August 9, 1917, he enlisted in the United States Army and rose through the ranks to second lieutenant in the Quartermaster Corps. He was discharged on March 6, 1919. He then returned to his law practice until 1933.

A liberal Democrat, Healey was elected as a Democrat to an open seat for the Massachusetts's 8th congressional district beginning with the Seventy-third United States Congress, taking office on March 4, 1933. He was returned to the four succeeding Congresses. His name was attached to one significant piece of New Deal legislation, the 1936 Walsh–Healey Act, which regulated hours and working conditions for employees working on government contracts. In 1938, he became one of the initial members of the newly created House Un-American Activities Committee.