Francis Raphael Smith (September 25, 1911 – December 9, 1982) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.

Frank R. Smith
Intelligencer Journal (Lancaster, Pennsylvania), January 17, 1955
Chairman of the
Philadelphia Democratic City Committee
In office
December 28, 1963 – December 1, 1967
Preceded byWilliam J. Green Jr.
Succeeded byWilliam J. Green III
Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner
In office
January 18, 1955 – January 15, 1963
GovernorGeorge Leader
David Lawrence
Preceded byJames F. Malone Jr.
Succeeded byAudrey Kelly
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 5th district
In office
January 3, 1941 – January 3, 1943
Preceded byFred Gartner
Succeeded byFred Pracht
Personal details
Born(1911-09-25)September 25, 1911
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
DiedDecember 9, 1982(1982-12-09) (aged 71)
Somerton, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materSt. Joseph’s College

Formative years edit

Born in Philadelphia, all four of Smith's grandparents were Irish immigrants.[1]

Smith graduated from St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia in 1933, and from the law department of Temple University in Philadelphia in 1938.

Career edit

Smith was employed as a bank examiner with the Pennsylvania State Banking Department in 1938 and 1939. He unsuccessfully sought election to one of Philadelphia County's allotted at-large seats in the Pennsylvania State House of Representatives in 1938.

Smith was elected as a Democrat to the 77th Congress, but was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1942.

After his term in Congress, he became a United States Marshal for the eastern district of Pennsylvania, serving from January 29, 1943, until his resignation on April 30, 1945.

He was then appointed collector of internal revenue at Philadelphia on May 1, 1945, and served in that capacity until 1952.

He ran for Register of Wills in Philadelphia in 1953, but was unsuccessful. In 1955, Governor George Leader appointed Smith State Insurance Commissioner.

In December 1963, he was elected to succeed the recently deceased Congressman Bill Green as Chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic Party.[2] He was also an elected member of the Board of Revision of Taxes of Philadelphia and member of Board of View of Philadelphia.

Death and interment edit

Smith died in Somerton, Philadelphia on December 9, 1982, and was interred at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania.[3]

Sources edit

  1. ^ "United States Census, 1920", FamilySearch, retrieved March 25, 2018
  2. ^ "Democrats Pick Aide to Succeed Green as Philadelphia Chairman; Haste Opposed In Post Since 1962". The New York Times. December 28, 1963. Retrieved February 12, 2012.
  3. ^ "Smith, Francis Raphael 1911-1982". www.bioguide.congress.gov. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved 27 October 2022.

External links edit

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 5th congressional district

1941-1943
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
James F. Malone Jr.
Pennsylvania Insurance Commissioner
1955–1963
Succeeded by
Audrey Kelly
Party political offices
Preceded by Chairman of the Philadelphia Democratic City Committee
1963–1967
Succeeded by