Born in Chicago, Illinois, Gorman attended the public schools of his native city. He was graduated in law from Georgetown University at Washington, D.C. in 1895. He was admitted to the bar in 1895 and commenced the practice of law in Chicago the following year. He served as assistant prosecuting attorney of Chicago 1897-1900.
Gorman was elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-third Congress (March 4, 1913 – March 3, 1915). He declined to be a candidate for reelection in 1914. He resumed the practice of law in Chicago. He served as assistant State's Attorney 1920-1928. He served as master in chancery of the circuit court from 1930 until his death in Chicago on January 13, 1935. He was interred in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery.[1]