John Austin Moon was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 for the 3rd congressional district

Tennessee's 3rd congressional district

The 3rd Congressional District of Tennessee is a congressional district in Tennessee. It currently includes a north-south strip in the eastern part of the state. Current Republican Representative Chuck Fleischmann has served since 2011....

 of Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

. He was born on April 22, 1855 near Charlottesville

Charlottesville, Virginia

Charlottesville is an independent city geographically surrounded by but separate from Albemarle County in the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, and named after Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, the queen consort of King George III of the United Kingdom.The official population estimate for...

, Virginia

Virginia

The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...

 in Albemarle County

Albemarle County, Virginia

As of the census of 2000, there were 79,236 people, 31,876 households, and 21,070 families residing in the county. The population density was 110 people per square mile . There were 33,720 housing units at an average density of 47 per square mile...

. He moved with his parents to Bristol, Virginia

Bristol, Virginia

Bristol is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Washington County, Virginia, Bristol, Tennessee, and Sullivan County, Tennessee....

 in 1857, and then to Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...

 in 1870. He attended public and private schools and King College

King College

King College is a private, comprehensive college located in Bristol, Tennessee. Founded in 1867, King is independently governed with covenant affiliations to the Presbyterian Church and the Evangelical Presbyterian Church ....

 in Bristol, Tennessee

Bristol, Tennessee

Bristol is a city in Sullivan County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 26,702 at the 2010 census. It is the twin city of Bristol, Virginia, which lies directly across the state line between Tennessee and Virginia. The boundaries of both cities run parallel to each other along State...

. He studied law, was admitted to the bar

Bar association

A bar association is a professional body of lawyers. Some bar associations are responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in their jurisdiction; others are professional organizations dedicated to serving their members; in many cases, they are both...

 in March 1874, and commenced practice in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

He was the city attorney of Chattanooga in 1881 and 1882. He was a member of the state 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...

 executive committee in 1888. He was commissioned in May 1889 as a special circuit judge, twice reappointed, and he held the office until January 3, 1891. He was appointed regular judge for the fourth circuit and served until August 1892. He was elected circuit judge in 1892. He was re-elected in 1894 for a term of eight years, but he resigned when he was elected to Congress.

He was elected as a Democrat

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...

 to the Fifty-fifth and the eleven succeeding Congresses. He served from March 4, 1897 to March 3, 1921. He was chairman of the United States House Committee on Post Office and Post Roads during the Sixty-second through Sixty-fifth Congresses. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention

Democratic National Convention

The Democratic National Convention is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 national convention...

 in 1900. He was renominated for Congress in 1921, but before election was taken ill and died in Chattanooga, Tennessee on June 26, 1921. He was interred

Burial

Burial is the act of placing a person or object into the ground. This is accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing an object in it, and covering it over.-History:...

 in Forrest Hill Cemetery.