John Arthur Elston (February 10, 1874 – December 15, 1921) was an American educator, lawyer and politician who served four terms as a U.S. Representative from California from 1915 to 1921.

Early life and career

Born in Woodland, California, Elston attended public schools. He graduated from Hesperian College, Woodland, 1892. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, California, 1897. He was a teacher and was admitted to the California state bar, 1901. He worked as a lawyer in private practice. He served as executive secretary to the Governor of California (George C. Pardee) from 1903 to 1907. He served as member of the board of trustees of the State Institution for the Deaf and Blind from 1911 to 1914.

Congress

Elston was elected as a Progressive to the Sixty-fourth Congress and reelected as a Republican to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1915 – December 15, 1921). He served as chairman of the Committee on Mileage (Sixty-sixth Congress).

Death

Elston killed himself in Washington, D.C., on December 15, 1921, by drowning in the Potomac River. He was cremated and the ashes placed in the California Crematorium, now the Chapel of the Chimes, Oakland, California.