John W. Langley

Who was John W. Langley?

John Wesley Langley was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky, husband of Katherine Gudger Langley.

Born in Floyd County, Kentucky, Langley attended the common schools and then taught school for three years. He attended the law department of the National, Georgetown, and Columbian Universities in Washington, D.C., for an aggregate period of eight years.

He was Examiner in the Pension Office and a member of the Board of Pension Appeals, Law Clerk in the General Land Office, and from 1899 to 1907, he was Disbursing and Appointment Clerk of the Census Office. He served in the State House of Representatives from 1886 to 1890.

Langley was elected in March 4, 1907 as a Republican to the Sixtieth and to the nine succeeding Congresses where he became known as "Pork Barrel John." He served as chairman of the Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds.

He resigned in January 11, 1926, after being convicted of illegally selling alcohol. Langley had deposited $115,000 in his bank account over a three-year period despite earning only $7,500 a year as a congressman. He had arranged for "medicinal" alcohol to be released to New York-based bootleggers during prohibition.