Felix Grundy McConnell

Felix Grundy McConnell (April 1, 1809 – September 10, 1846) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama.

Born in Nashville, Tennessee, McConnell moved with his parents to Fayetteville, Tennessee, in 1811. He received a limited education and became a saddler. He moved to Talladega, Alabama, in 1834. He studied law. He was admitted to the bar in 1836 and commenced practice in Talladega, Alabama. He served as member of the State house of representatives in 1838. He served in the State senate 1839-1843.

McConnell was elected as a Democrat to the Twenty-eighth and Twenty-ninth Congresses and served from March 4, 1843 until his death. During his tenure in Congress, he introduced a resolution proposing the United States annex Ireland. McConnell gained a reputation for his rambunctious behavior and heavy drinking. He was involved in a number of public incidents both at home and in Washington, including interrupting a performance by violinist Ole Bull and having to have several policemen remove him from the concert hall. On September 10, 1846, in Washington, D.C., McConnell took his own life, stabbing himself in the throat and on his body, believed to have been committed in a state of mental hallucination due to delirium tremens.[1] He was interred in the Congressional Cemetery.