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Joseph Matthew Gaydos (July 3, 1926 – February 7, 2015) was a Democratic member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. Gaydos was the first Slovak American to serve in the United States Congress.
Gaydos was born in Braddock, Pennsylvania. His Hungarian father was born in Northern Hungary which today is Slovakia after it was annexed by Czechoslovakia following World War I and the Treaty of Trianon.
He attended Duquesne University and graduated from the University of Notre Dame Law School in 1951. He served during World War II in the Pacific theater with the United States Navy Reserve, 1944–1946. He served in the Pennsylvania State Senate from 1967 to 1968. He served as Deputy Attorney General of Pennsylvania, Assistant Solicitor of Allegheny County, and general counsel to United Mine Workers of America, district five.
He was elected simultaneously as a Democrat to the 90th and to the 91st Congress, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of United States Representative Elmer Holland. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1992. He died on February 7, 2015, aged 88.
Sources
- United States Congress. "Joseph M. Gaydos (id: G000105)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.; retrieved March 1, 2015
- Appearances on C-SPAN
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Elmer Holland | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 20th congressional district 1968–1993 | Succeeded by Austin Murphy |
