Jim Olin
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James R. (Jim) Olin (February 28, 1920 - July 29, 2006) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Virginia.
Olin was born in Chicago, Illinois and raised in a middle-class suburb. He attended the ultra-exclusive and non-traditional Deep Springs College, before moving on to Cornell University, from which he earned an electrical engineering degree. Olin served for three years in the U.S. Army during World War II. Upon discharge, General Electric hired him. He worked for the corporation for 35 years, eventually reaching the rank of corporate vice president and general manager of industrial electronics.
Olin, a Democrat, made his first bid for political office in 1953, when he became Rotherdam, New York supervisor. Four years later, he was elected to the first of two terms as a Schenectady County commissioner. In 1982, Olin was elected to represent the 6th district of Virginia in Congress. While in the House, Olin was one of the more liberal members from the state's delegation. He was known as an outspoken legislator who did not always follow party trends. For example, in 1991, he opposed the Democratic-backed Persian Gulf War. That same year, he clashed with President George H. W. Bush over his budget proposals. He received an honorary LLD in 1992 from Washington and Lee University.
Olin did not run for a sixth term in 1992. He died at age 86 in Charlottesville, Virginia.
