Sydney Emanuel Mudd II

Sydney Emanuel Mudd II (June 20, 1885 – October 11, 1924) was an American attorney and politician from Maryland's 5th congressional district, elected to several terms as a US Representative in Congress, dying in office.

Early life and education

Born at his parents' plantation in Gallant Green, Charles County, Maryland, Mudd was the son of Sydney Emanuel Mudd, who became a US Congressman, and his wife. He was raised Catholic, attending the public schools of Charles County and the District of Columbia. He moved with his parents to La Plata, Maryland, in 1896. He graduated from Georgetown University in 1906 with a B.A., and from its law school in 1909 with a law degree.

Law career

Mudd was admitted to the bar in 1910, and served as professor of criminal law at Georgetown University Law School in 1910.

Like his father, Mudd joined the Republican Party. He was appointed assistant district attorney of the District of Columbia, a federal position, in February 1911.

Marriage and family

Mudd married and had a family.

Political career

Mudd's father had told him he would not be seeking re-election, and his last term as Congressman ended in March 1911. Mudd II resigned as assistant district attorney in March 1911 to campaign for the seat as US Congressman from Maryland's 5th congressional district. Mudd did not win the Republican nomination in 1912 to run for election to the Sixty-third Congress. He was reappointed assistant district attorney in July 1912.

In March 1914, Mudd resigned to become a candidate for Congress. He was elected in 1914 from the fifth district of Maryland as a Republican to the Sixty-fourth and to the four succeeding Congresses, serving from March 4, 1915 until his death in Baltimore, Maryland from illness in 1924. He is interred in St. Ignatius’ Catholic Church Cemetery at Chapel Point near La Plata, where his father was also buried.