James Landy was a Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

James Landy was born in Northern Liberties District

Northern Liberties, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

-Boundaries:Northern Liberties is located north of Center City and is bordered by Girard Avenue to the north; Callowhill Street to the south; North 6th Street to the west; and the Delaware River to the east...

 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He attended the public schools and studied law, but abandoned it later and engaged in mercantile pursuits. He was a member of the board of school commissioners in 1845.

Landy was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-fifth

31st United States Congress

The Thirty-first United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1849 to March 3, 1851, during the last 17 months...

 Congress. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1858

United States House election, 1858

Following the U.S. House election of 1858, the Republicans gained control of the House for the first time, benefiting from the continued breakdown in the anti-immigration and anti-Catholic American Party of the Know Nothing Movement, and from strife within the Democratic Party.The Republicans were...

. He was elected chief commissioner of highway

Highway

A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...

s in 1862. He died in Philadelphia in 1875. Interment in Monument Cemetery.

Sources

• The Political Graveyard