Born in Ford City, Pennsylvania, Hunter moved with his parents in 1907 to Toledo, Ohio, where he attended the public schools. He was graduated from the law department of St. John's University in Toledo in 1918. He was admitted to the bar the same year and commenced practice in the city.

World War I edit

During the First World War, he enlisted in the United States Army on March 6, 1918, and served until honorably discharged on November 26, 1918.

He served as delegate to the Democratic State conventions in 1932, 1934, 1936, and 1938. Hunter was an alternate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1932 and 1936. He was a member of the State house of representatives in 1933 and 1934 and served in the Ohio State Senate in 1935 and 1936.

Hunter was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fifth, Seventy-sixth, and Seventy-seventh Congresses (January 3, 1937–January 3, 1943). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1942 to the Seventy-eighth Congress and for election in 1944 to the Seventy-ninth Congress. He resumed the practice of law in Toledo, Ohio, and Washington, D.C.

He died in Alexandria, Virginia, December 19, 1957, and was interred in Calvary Cemetery in Toledo.

• United States Congress. "John F. Hunter (id: H000983)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

  This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress