O'Brian, John Lord, 1874-

American lawyer; head of the War Emergency Division, United States Department of Justice, 1917-1919.

O'Brian was born in Buffalo, New York in 1874. He received the A.B. degree from Harvard College in 1896 and the L.L.B. degree from Buffalo Law School in 1898. In February 1909, O'Brian was appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York. He continued to serve in this position through the administrations of President Taft and President Wilson. During World War I, O'Brian served as Head of the War Emergency Division in the U.S. Dept. of Justice where he was responsible for prosecuting cases of espionage and sabotage. At the end of World War I, O'Brian returned to Buffalo to practice law. In 1929, President Hoover appointed O'Brian to serve as Assistant Attorney General of the Anti-Trust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice where he was responsible for arguing more than 15 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. He was retained by the Tennessee Valley Authority in 1935, eventually winning the case that challenged the creation of the Authority. In 1941, President Franklin Roosevelt appointed O'Brian to serve as General Counsel of the War Production Board. From 1945 until his death, at age 98, O'Brian practiced law in Washington, D.C.

Lawyer.

Biography

American lawyer; head of the War Emergency Division, United States Department of Justice, 1917-1919

Biographical Note