James Patrick McGranery served as U.S. attorney general from 1952 to 1953 under President Harry S. Truman. McGranery served in all three branches of government, including the U.S. House of Representatives and the federal district court.

McGranery was born on July 8, 1895 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He quit high school to work in a printing plant but left to enlist in the Army during World War I. He served as a balloon observation pilot and as an adjutant to an infantry division. At the end of the war, McGranery resumed his education by finishing high school and then enrolling at Temple University. After earning his undergraduate degree, McGranery earned a law degree at Temple's Law School, graduating in 1928.

McGranery had become active in local Democratic Party politics while at Temple and decided to pursue every opportunity he could find to build his reputation within the party. He managed the local...