James Irvin | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 17th district |
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In office March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845 |
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Preceded by | Almon Heath Read |
Succeeded by | John Blanchard |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania's 14th district |
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In office March 4, 1841 – March 3, 1843 |
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Preceded by | George McCulloch |
Succeeded by | Alexander Ramsey |
Personal details | |
Born |
Centre County, Pennsylvania |
February 18, 1800
Died | November 28, 1862 Schuylkill County, Pennsylvania |
(aged 62)
Political party | Whig |
James Irvin (February 18, 1800 – November 28, 1862) was an American politician. Irvin was a prominent agriculturalist and ironmaster in Centre County, Pennsylvania. Irvin represented Pennsylvania's 14th congressional district in the 27th and 28th Congresses. Irvin unsuccessfully ran for governor of Pennsylvania in 1847, losing to incumbent governor Francis Rawn Shunk.
In 1855, the General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania chartered the Farmer's High School. The school's trustees decided to build the school on 200 acres (0.81 km2) of Centre County land donated by Irvin. That Farmer's High School is now The Pennsylvania State University. Irvin Hall, one of Penn State's oldest residential halls, named in his honor.
Irvin died in Hecla, Centre County, Pennsylvania, on November 28, 1862. He is buried in Union Cemetery in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.
The Oak Hall Historic District, associated with his dwelling in College Township, Pennsylvania, was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Also on the Register is the Monroe Furnace, which he established in 1847.