William Brockman Bankhead (1874 - 1940)

Born 12 Apr 1874 in Sulligent, Lamar, Alabama, United States

Ancestors

Husband of Adelaide Eugenia (Sledge) Bankhead — married 31 Jan 1900 (to 23 Feb 1902) in Memphis, Shelby, Tennessee, United States

Died 15 Sep 1940 at age 66 in Bethesda, Montgomery, Maryland, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: B. Hollis [send private message]

William Bankhead is Notable.

Preceded by 41st Speaker Joseph "Jo" Byrns

William Brockman Bankhead 42nd Speaker of the US House of Representatives June 4, 1936—September 15, 1940

Succeeded by 43rd Speaker Samuel Taliaferro (Sam) Rayburn

Biography

William Brockman Bankhead (April 12, 1874 – September 15, 1940) was an American politician who served as the 42nd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1936 to 1940, representing Alabama's 10th and later 7th congressional districts as a Democrat from 1917 to 1940. Bankhead was a prominent supporter of President Franklin Roosevelt's New Deal of pro-labor union legislation, thus clashing with most other Southern Democrats in Congress at the time. Bankhead's father, John H. Bankhead, was a U.S. Representative and Senator. His elder brother John H. Bankhead II was also a U.S. Senator, and his nephew Walter Will Bankhead was a U.S. Representative. His daughter, Tallulah Bankhead, was the acclaimed theatrical, radio and motion picture actress.

Bankhead was born at the Bankhead plantation in Lamar County, Alabama in 1874, the son of John H. Bankhead and Tallulah James Brockman, granddaughter of South Carolina state Senator Thomas Patterson Brockman. He was raised as a Methodist, and attended the University of Alabama, where he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, and played on the university's first football team. He studied law at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, DC, graduating in 1895.

He was immediately admitted to the bar in Alabama, and practiced law in Huntsville.

In 1898, he became city attorney of Huntsville, serving until 1902. In 1900, he was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives for one term, serving through 1901.

In 1905, he moved to Jasper, Alabama. In 1910 he was appointed solicitor of the fourteenth judicial circuit of Alabama, serving until 1914.

In 1914, he sought the Democratic nomination for US Representative, but failed. In 1916 he was elected Representative from the newly created 10th Congressional District. (Alabama was apportioned a tenth Congressional seat after the 1910 Census, but the seat was filled by at-large election in 1912 and 1914.) Bankhead held the 10th District until it was abolished after the 1930 Census, when Alabama lost a seat. He was the only person ever elected from the 10th District.

After reapportionment and redistricting following the 1930 Census, Bankhead was re-elected Representative from the 7th District in 1932, and was re-elected three times, serving until his death in 1940. Bankhead served as chairman of the House Rules Committee from April 1934 until January 1935, taking over for Edward W. Pou who died in office. In 1934, he was chosen House Majority Leader by his fellow Democrats. On June 4, 1936, he was chosen Speaker of the House to succeed Jo Byrns, who had died that morning. Bankhead served as Speaker until his death on September 15, 1940. His cause of death was a stomach hemorrhage.

As Speaker, Bankhead held the second-highest political office of any Alabamian, after only Vice President William R. King.

At the 1940 Democratic National Convention (three months before his death), he finished second to Henry A. Wallace on the Vice Presidential ticket, losing the delegate count 626–329.

Sources

• Wikipedia contributors. "William Brockman Bankhead." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Accessed 1 Jan 2016.
• History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography, by Thomas Mcadory Owen, L.L.D. (relative of John Bankhead), Volume III, The S. J. Clarke Publishing Company, 1921. Pages 88, 91 & 92,
• Annuals of Northwest Alabama, Volume III, compiled by Carl Elliott, privately published 1965, Tuscaloosa, Alabama, page 85, 200, 201, 261 & 203
• Find A Grave: Memorial #7366106
• Walter J. Heacock, "William B. Bankhead and the New Deal", The Journal of Southern History, Vol. 21, No. 3 (Aug. 1955), pp. 347–359.
• "Alabama's history: Three generations of Bankheads were the state's shining stars". AL.com. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
• "William B. Bankhead | Encyclopedia of Alabama". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
• United States Congress. "William B. Bankhead (id: B000113)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

Notes