M. Clyde Kelly was born in
Bloomfield, Muskingum County, Ohio. He attended
Muskingum College in
New Concord, Ohio. He was engaged in newspaper publishing at
Braddock, Pennsylvania, in 1903 and established the
Braddock Leader in 1904. In 1907 he purchased the
Daily News and the
Evening Herald and consolidated them into the
Daily News-Herald. He was a member of the
Pennsylvania House of Representatives from 1910 to 1913. Kelly was elected as a Republican to the
Sixty-third Congress, but was an unsuccessful candidate in 1914. After his term in Congress, he continued his newspaper work. He was again elected as a
Progressive to the
Sixty-fifth and reelected as a Republican to the eight succeeding Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1934. During his tenure as Congressman, Clyde introduced a resolution to permit private contracting of airmail service. This resolution, the
Air Mail Act of 1925 was signed into law on February 2, 1925, prompting many companies to venture into the aviation field (e.g.,
Boeing,
Douglas, and
Pratt & Whitney). The Airmail Act of 1925 was the foundation that commercial aviation is built upon. After his time in Congress, he resumed his former business pursuits. He was accidentally shot while cleaning a
rifle and died in a hospital at
Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. Clyde was interred in Mahoning Union Cemetery, near
Marchand, Pennsylvania. == Sources ==