William J. Green was born in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the son of
Irish immigrants. He graduated from
St. Joseph's Preparatory School, and attended
St. Joseph's College in Philadelphia. He was engaged in business as an insurance broker in Philadelphia in 1937. He served in the
United States Army as a private in the
Quartermaster Corps from March 22, 1944, to December 4, 1944. He was elected to Congress in 1944, and after a defeat in the Republican landslide year of 1946, was reelected to Congress in 1948 and every two years thereafter until his death at age 53. He had been elected
Democratic City Chairman in 1953, and, in that role, held until his death, he helped solidify
Philadelphia as a Democratic stronghold. Green died of
peritonitis and gall bladder complications in Philadelphia on December 21, 1963 and was interred at
Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in
Cheltenham Township, Pennsylvania. He was succeeded in Congress by his son,
William J. Green III, who was 25 years old at the time of his first election, and later became
Mayor of Philadelphia. The William J. Green Jr. Federal Building, at 6th and Arch streets in Philadelphia, is named for him. ==See also==