John W. Olver (born September 3, 1936), American politician, has been a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives since 1991, representing the First District of Massachusetts, a primarily rural district that makes up most of Western Massachusetts. He was born in Honesdale, Pennsylvania, but has called Amherst, Massachusetts home since 1963. He earned a B.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an M.S. from Tufts University, and a Ph.D. in chemistry from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He served as a chemistry professor at the Franklin Technical Institute in Joplin, Missouri, at MIT and at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
