Edward L. O'Connor

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Edward Louis O’Connor (February 1, 1891 – June 21, 1973) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as the 19th Attorney General of Iowa from 1933 to 1937. He was born in Fremont Township, Johnson County, Iowa, to Patrick and Nora O’Connor. He attended Lone Tree High School and the University of Iowa, earning a BA in Education in 1913, an LLB in 1920, and a JD in 1924. He worked as a school superintendent in Burt (1913–1915) before practicing law in Iowa City (1920–1933). O’Connor served as Johnson County Attorney from 1923 to 1927 and was president of the Johnson County Bar Association in 1932.

He served in World War I as a First Lieutenant in the Field Artillery from 1917 to 1919. He married Frances Florence Freeman in 1917, and they had four children: Edward L. Jr., Martin, Katherine, and Marian. Frances died in 1970.

As attorney general, O’Connor and his assistant were indicted in 1935 on charges related to graft and a slot machine gambling operation, but he was later acquitted. He also ran for a seat on the Iowa Supreme Court in 1952 and again in 1960, but was not elected.

Edward L. O’Connor died in Tipton, Iowa, on June 21, 1973.