John Austin Moon as an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 3rd congressional district of Tennessee. He was born on April 22, 1855 near Charlottesville, Virginia in Albemarle County. He moved with his parents to Bristol, Virginia in 1857, and then to Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1870. He attended public and private schools and King College in Bristol, Tennessee. He studied law, was admitted to the bar 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 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 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 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 in Forrest Hill Cemetery.
This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
