James Brooks (November 10, 1807 – April 30, 1873) was an American educator, lawyer, and politician who represented New York City in the United States House of Representatives for seven nonconsecutive terms between 1849 and his death in 1873. Though initially a member of the Whig Party, he later joined the Democratic Party and, as a critic of the Abraham Lincoln administration, rose to become its leader in the House at the end of the American Civil War. He died in office in 1873 while under scrutiny and formal censure for attempted bribery in connection to the Credit Mobilier scandal. Source: Wikipedia (en)