Attorney General: James H. McGrath

James Howard McGrath was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, on November 28, 1903. He received his undergraduate degree from Providence College in 1926 and his law degree from Boston University in 1929. He was admitted to the Rhode Island bar in 1929 and, in later years, was the recipient of numerous honorary degrees. From 1930 to 1934, he was city solicitor of Central Falls, Rhode Island. McGrath served as U.S. Attorney for the District of Rhode Island from 1935 to 1940. From 1940 until 1945, he was Governor of Rhode Island. McGrath served as Solicitor General of the United States from 1945–1946. He was elected U.S. Senator from Rhode Island in 1946 and retained his Senate seat when he became chairman of the Democratic National Committee the following year. 

President Harry S. Truman appointed McGrath as Attorney General of the United States on August 24, 1949. He relinquished that office on April 7, 1952, and entered the private practice of law. He died at his farm near Narragansett, Rhode Island, on September 2, 1966.