Please turn your device to landscape view for wide tables like those below.
James S. Christian Jr.
Member From: 1978 - December 29, 1982
- Birth Date: October 26, 1918 Birth Place:Richmond, VA
- Death Date: December 29, 1982
- Gender: Male Race: African American
- Spouse:
- Children:
- Religion: Baptist
- Education: Armstrong High School Virginia Union University Virginia Commonwealth University (government courses)
- Military Service: USA, Observation Pilot, 5th Army command (Italy) Commanding Officer, Battery C, Anti-aircraft Artillery (Fort Totten, NY)
- Occupation/Profession: Federal employee (retired) Accountant
- Memberships/Affiliations: Fourth Baptist Church Richmond Planning Commission (chairman) Capital Regional Area Airport Commission (finance committee chairman) Richmond Regional Planning District Commission Crusade for Voters 533 Social Club, Inc.
-
Additional Info Links:
Encyclopedia Virginia Biography
- Bio: James Samuel Christian represented the city of Richmond in the House of Delegates. He was a veteran of World War II, the first African American from Richmond to report for flight training at the Tuskegee Army Air Base in Alabama, and the Korean War. A postal worker for many years, he took accounting courses and opened a bookkeeping business in the city’s Jackson Ward neighborhood in 1963. Nearly a decade later he joined Richmond’s planning commission and was named its chair in 1976. The next year he won election to the House of Delegates, the first of three consecutive terms. A highly successful delegate, bone cancer probably kept Christian from becoming the House’s second African American committee chair of the twentieth century. He died in 1982 and was buried in Richmond’s Oakwood Cemetery.
| Session | District | District Number | Party | Leadership | Committees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | City of Richmond | 33 | Democrat | General Laws Nominations and Confirmations |
|
| 1979 | City of Richmond | 33 | Democrat | General Laws Nominations and Confirmations |
|
| 1980 | City of Richmond | 33 | Democrat | Corporations Insurance and Banking General Laws Nominations and Confirmations |
|
| 1981 | City of Richmond | 33 | Democrat | Corporations Insurance and Banking General Laws Nominations and Confirmations |
|
| 1982 | City of Richmond | 33 | Democrat | Conservation and Natural Resources Corporations Insurance and Banking Finance Nominations and Confirmations |
*The information within this interactive and searchable application has been researched extensively by the House Clerk’s Office. As with any historical records of this age and breadth, there may be discrepancies and/or inconsistencies within records obtained from a variety of credible sources. Any feedback is encouraged at history@house.virginia.gov.