Joseph W. Byrns Sr.

Joseph W. Byrns Sr.
41st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
In office January 3, 1935 – June 4, 1936
President	Franklin D. Roosevelt
Preceded by	Henry T. Rainey
Succeeded by	William B. Bankhead
House Majority Leader
In office 1933–1935
Preceded by	Henry T. Rainey
Succeeded by	William B. Bankhead
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Tennessee's 5th & 6th districts
In office March 4, 1909 – March 3, 1933 (6th) March 4, 1933 – June 4, 1936 (5th)
Preceded by	John W. Gaines Ewin L. Davis
Succeeded by	Clarence W. Turner Richard M. Atkinson
Member of the Tennessee Senate
In office 1901-1903
Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives
In office 1895-1901
Personal details
Born	Joseph Wellington Byrns July 20, 1869 Cedar Hill, Tennessee
Died	June 4, 1936 (aged 66) Washington, D.C.
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Vanderbilt University
Profession	Law

Joseph Wellington "Jo" Byrns, Sr. (July 20, 1869 – June 4, 1936) was a U.S. politician. He served as a 14-term Democratic Congressman from Tennessee.

Biography

Byrns was born in Cedar Hill, Robertson County, Tennessee, son of James Henry Byrns and Mary Emily Jackson. He was named for a maternal uncle, Joseph William Green Jackson who died in the Civil War. His great-grandfather, James Byrns, Esq., figures in the legend of The Bell Witch, and is mentioned in the Authenticated History of The Bell Witch by Martin Van Buren Ingram. A graduate of public schools, he displayed a strong early interest in politics and was elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1894 and reelected in 1896 and 1898. In 1900 he was elected to the Tennessee State Senate.

In 1902 he ran for district attorney of Davidson County, Tennessee but was defeated — his only unsuccessful political race in 18 efforts. In 1908, Byrns received the Democratic nomination for U.S. Representative and was elected in November of that year to a term beginning March 4, 1909. He served in the House for the rest of his life.

Byrns was widely respected and his influence grew as his seniority did. He was chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee from 1928 to 1935.^[1] In 1931 he was appointed chairman of the powerful House Appropriations Committee and in 1933 became House Majority Leader. In 1935 he became Speaker of the House. He was awarded the 1935-36 "Amazing Eyebrows" Cup by The New York Times.

Byrns was Speaker when he died in Washington, D.C., and had been planning to run for reelection. His funeral, attended by President Roosevelt and other dignitaries, was held in the United States Capitol. He was interred at Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville. His son Jo Byrns, Jr. later served a single term in the House but never achieved the popularity of Jo, Sr.

Byrns was also an active Civitan.^[2]

References

1. Irish, Ann B. (2001). Joseph W. Byrns of Tennessee: a political biography. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press. p. 220. ISBN 1-57233-131-3.
2. Leonhart, James Chancellor (1962). The Fabulous Octogenarian. Baltimore Maryland: Redwood House, Inc. p. 277.

Legacy

Jo Byrns High School, near Adams, Tennessee in his native Robertson County, is named in his honor. It was opened in 1951.

External links

• Joseph Wellington Byrns, Sr. at Find-A-Grave
• Jo Byrns Elementary School
• Jo Byrns High School

• United States Congress. "Joseph W. Byrns Sr. (id: B001217)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.