William Madison Whittington | |
---|---|
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi's 3rd district | |
In office March 4, 1925 – January 3, 1951 | |
Preceded by | William Y. Humphreys |
Succeeded by | Frank E. Smith |
Member of the
Mississippi State Senate from the 27th district | |
In office January 1, 1916 – August 16, 1924 | |
Commissioner, Greenwood, Mississippi | |
In office January 1, 1907 – January 1, 1911 | |
Personal details | |
Born | May 4, 1878 Little Springs, Mississippi, U.S. |
Died | August 20, 1962 Greenwood, Mississippi, U.S. | (aged 84)
Political party | Democratic |
Education |
University of Mississippi Mississippi College |
Profession | Attorney |
William Madison Whittington (May 4, 1878 – August 20, 1962) was an American politician from Mississippi. [1] [2] Whittington was a Representative to the 69th United States Congress in 1925, and the twelve succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1925 – January 3, 1951) as a Democrat. [2] In Congress, his nickname was "Mr. Flood Control." [3]
Whittington was bornin Little Springs, Mississippi. [1] [2] He was the son of Margaret Isaphene McGehee and Alexander Madison Whittington, a farmer. [1] [3]
He attended the public schools of Franklin County, Mississippi. [2] He attended Mississippi College at Clinton, graduating in 1898. [1] [2] He then studied law at the University of Mississippi, graduating in 1899. [1] [2] While at Mississippi, he was a member of St. Anthony Hall, also known as the Fraternity of Delta Psi. [4]
He was admitted to the bar in 1899. He moved to Roxie, Mississippi on January 1, 1901 where he was principal of a school and also started practicing law. [1] [2] [3] In Roxie, he was also a member of the board of aldermen. [3] In January 1904, he moved to Greenwood, Mississippi, where he continued the practice of law and also started cotton farming. [1] [2] He became a local commissioner for Greenwood from January 1, 1907, to January 1, 1911. [1] [2] In 1914, he started his own private law practice. [3]
He was elected to the Mississippi State Senate from the 27th District from January 1, 1916, to January 1, 1920. [2] [5] He was reelected in 1923 for a four-year term and served from January 1 to August 16, 1924 when he resigned. [2] While with the legislature, he showed his prohibitionist leanings when he authored the state's first Bone Dry Law. [1]
In August 1924 he left the state legislature when he accepted the Democratic nomination for Representative in the United States Congress. [1] [2] Due to Jim Crow laws, Whittington was elected to the House by just 4,000 people, despite living in a district of 435,000. [6]
After the Great Flood of 1927 Whittington authored and successfully forwarded the Flood Control Act of 1928. [1] He served on the Committee of Public Works; the Reclamation Committee, Roads Committee, and Expenditures Committee in the Executive Department; and the Flood Control Committee which is chaired in 1936 and for the next twelve years. [1] [2] [3] [7] Virtually all legislation on flood control between 1928 and 1951 was authored by Whittington. [3]
In 1940 and, again, in 1941, Whittington wanted to run for the United States Senate, but was talked out of it by friends. [1] He retired in 1951 and returned to Greenwood where he practiced law with his son Whittington Jr. [1] [3] He served in Congress for more than 25 years. [1]
He served as delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1920, 1928, 1936, 1940, and 1948. [2] He was a member of the American Bar Association, the Lefore County Bar Association, and the Mississippi State Bar Association. [7]
Whittington married Lena May McGehee on September 7, 1904. [1] They had no children and she died in September 1907. [1] He married Anna Ward Aven of Clinton, Mississippi on July 20, 1910. [1] [7] She was the first female to graduate from Mississippi College where her father was the president. [1] [7] Their children were Charles Aven Whittington, Mary Whittington, and William Madison Whittington Jr. [1]
He taught Sunday school at the Baptist Church and became president of the Mississippi State Baptist Convention in 1910. [1] [7] He was also a member of the Elks, the Kiwanis Club, the Shriners, and was a 33rd degree Mason. [1] [7] The Whittingtons gave the Avon Fine Arts Building to Mississippi College. [7] In Greenwood, he donated 40 acres for park and built a pavilion there; it was named Whittinton Park. [7]
In his later years, Whittington lost most of his eyesight and could not climb stairs. [1] In 1962, he died at his home in Greenwood at the age of 84. [1] [3] He was buried in Odd Fellows Cemetery. [2]