Martin Patrick Durkin

American politician

Martin Durkin


7th United States Secretary of Labor
In office January 21, 1953 – September 10, 1953
President	Dwight D. Eisenhower
Preceded by	Maurice J. Tobin
Succeeded by	James P. Mitchell

Personal details
Born	(1894-03-18)March 18, 1894 Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Died	November 13, 1955(1955-11-13) (aged 61) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Anna McNicholas
Children	3

Martin Patrick Durkin (March 18, 1894 – November 13, 1955) was a U.S. administrator. He served as Secretary of Labor from January 21, 1953, to September 10, 1953, where he was the "plumber" of President Dwight Eisenhower's "Nine Millionaires and a Plumber"^[1] cabinet.

Biography

Durkin was born in Chicago, Illinois, on March 18, 1894, the son of James J. Durkin and Mary Catherine (née Higgins). At the age of 17, Durkin became involved in the plumber's and pipe fitter's union.^[2] On August 29, 1921, Durkin married the former Anna H. McNicholas. They had three sons: Martin Bernard, William Joseph and John Francis Durkin. He eventually became president of that union, and then served as Director of Labor for the State of Illinois from 1933 to 1941. He worked closely with the President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins.

Durkin served as the Secretary of Labor during the Eisenhower administration. A Democrat among Republicans, he unsuccessfully pushed for his revisions in the Taft-Hartley Act. This led to his resignation after less than eight months in office, the shortest tenure of any Secretary of Labor.^[2]

He died in Washington D.C., from complications of cancer surgery. He was interred in St. Mary Catholic Cemetery in Evergreen Park, Illinois.

References

^ Jonathan Martin (2008-11-23). "Whither the Cabinet Republicans?". Politico.
^ ^a ^b "U.S. Department of Labor -- History -- Portraits: Martin P. Durkin". Retrieved 27 January 2017.

External links

Department of Labor biography
Department of Labor history of Eisenhower years

Political offices
Preceded by Maurice J. Tobin	U.S. Secretary of Labor Served under: Dwight D. Eisenhower January 21–September 10, 1953	Succeeded by James P. Mitchell
Trade union offices
Preceded by George Masterton	President of the United Association 1943–1953	Succeeded by Peter Schoemann
Preceded by Peter Schoemann	President of the United Association 1953–1955	Succeeded by Peter Schoemann

United States Secretaries of Labor

Secretaries of Commerce and Labor

Secretaries of Labor

Cabinet of President Dwight D. Eisenhower (1953–1961)

Cabinet
Vice President	Richard Nixon (1953–1961)
Secretary of State	John Foster Dulles (1953–1959) Christian Herter (1959–1961)
Secretary of the Treasury	George M. Humphrey (1953–1957) Robert B. Anderson (1957–1961)
Secretary of Defense	Charles Erwin Wilson (1953–1957) Neil H. McElroy (1957–1959) Thomas S. Gates Jr. (1959–1961)
Attorney General	Herbert Brownell Jr. (1953–1957) William P. Rogers (1957–1961)
Postmaster General	Arthur Summerfield (1953–1961)
Secretary of the Interior	Douglas McKay (1953–1956) Fred A. Seaton (1956–1961)
Secretary of Agriculture	Ezra Taft Benson (1953–1961)
Secretary of Commerce	Sinclair Weeks (1953–1958) Frederick H. Mueller (1959–1961)
Secretary of Labor	Martin Patrick Durkin (1953) James P. Mitchell (1953–1961)
Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare	Oveta Culp Hobby (1953–1955) Marion B. Folsom (1955–1958) Arthur Flemming (1958–1961)

Cabinet-level
Director of the Bureau of the Budget	Joseph Dodge (1953–1954) Rowland Hughes (1954–1956) Percival Brundage (1956–1958) Maurice Stans (1958–1961)
Ambassador to the United Nations	Henry Cabot Lodge Jr. (1953–1960) James Jeremiah Wadsworth (1960–1961)
Director of the Mutual Security Agency	Harold Stassen (1953)
Director of the Office of Defense Mobilization	Arthur Flemming (1953–1957) Gordon Gray (1957–1958)
Administrator of the Federal Civil Defense Administration	Val Peterson (1953–1957) Leo Hoegh (1957–1958)
Director of the Office of Civil and Defense Mobilization	Leo Hoegh (1958–1961)
Chair of the Atomic Energy Commission	John A. McCone (1958–1961)
White House Chief of Staff	Sherman Adams (1953–1958) Wilton Persons (1958–1961)
White House Deputy Chief of Staff	Wilton Persons (1953–1958) Gerald D. Morgan (1958–1961)
White House Cabinet Secretary	Maxwell M. Rabb (1954–1958) Robert Keith Gray (1958–1961)

Authority control databases	NARA

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