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Wilson Watkins Wyatt(November 21, 1905 – June 11, 1996) was an American politician who served asMayor of Louisville, Kentuckyfrom 1941 to 1945 and as the 43rdLieutenant Governor of Kentuckyfrom 1959 to 1963. He was a member of theDemocratic Party.
Wilson Watkins Wyatt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 43rdLieutenant Governor of Kentucky | |
| In office December 8, 1959 – December 10, 1963 | |
| Governor | Bert T. Combs |
| Preceded by | Harry Lee Waterfield |
| Succeeded by | Harry Lee Waterfield |
| 44thMayor of Louisville, Kentucky | |
| In office 1941–1945 | |
| Preceded by | Joseph D. Scholtz |
| Succeeded by | E. Leland Taylor |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 21, 1905 Louisville, Kentucky,U.S. |
| Died | June 11, 1996(aged 90) Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Resting place | Cave Hill Cemetery Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | University of Louisville(BA,LLB) |
| Occupation |
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Early life and education
editWyatt was born inLouisvilleto Richard H. and Mary (Watkins) Wyatt and attended theUniversity of Louisvilleand theUniversity of Louisville School of Law.[1]He was admitted to the bar in 1927. He was the principal counsel forThe Louisville Courier-Journaland otherBinghamfamily-owned media companies prior to launching his political career.
Career
editEarly career
editWyatt's political career began with his election as the mayor of Louisville in 1941. He took office just after thebombing of Pearl Harbor.Wyatt madecivil defensea priority in his city and also initiated Louisville's planning and zoning commission.
Politics and diplomacy
editAt the1944 Democratic National ConventioninChicago,Wyatt was called upon to adviseU.S. SenatorAlben W. Barkleyof Kentucky, who was scheduled to give the nomination speech forU.S. PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt.Barkley at first said he would not make the speech after FDR passed him up for thevice-presidentialrecommendation in favor ofHarry S. TrumanofMissouri.James A. Farley,FDR's formerPostmaster Generaland Barkley confidant, agreed with Wyatt and insisted that Barkley give what is recalled as a particularly effective oration on Roosevelt's behalf.[2]
As Wyatt's term as mayor of Louisville ended, PresidentHarry Truman,who in 1948 would tap Barkley as his vice-presidential choice, appointed Wyatt as United States Housing Expediter for theOffice of War Mobilization,a position givenCabinet-level rank.
WithEleanor Roosevelt,Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.,Hubert Humphrey,and others, Wyatt took a leading role in the founding and leadership of aninterest group,Americans for Democratic Action.He was the first ADA chairman in 1947.
Wyatt was the campaign manager forAdlai Stevenson's 1952 presidential campaign and played a prominent role in Stevenson's 1956 presidential campaign. Both ended in losses toDwight D. Eisenhower.
In 1959, Wyatt planned to run forgovernor of Kentucky.Instead, he ran forlieutenant governorwithBert T. Combsat the top of the ticket. Combs and Wyatt were both elected and served in those offices from 1959 through 1963. Combs' administration created the Kentucky Economic Development Commission, with Wyatt as its chairman.
In 1962, Wyatt was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for the United States Senate but lost the election to themoderate Republicanincumbent,Thruston B. Morton.
In 1963, PresidentJohn F. Kennedyappointed Wyatt as a special envoy toIndonesia.[3]Wyatt's mission was successful and Sukarno did not take over foreign-owned elements of the Indonesian oil industry, as had occurred inMexicoin 1938.
Return to law
editAfter leaving the lieutenant governor's office in 1963, Wyatt returned to the law firm which he had co-founded in the late 1940s. Originally known as Wyatt, Grafton & Grafton, the firm had changed name partners when Wyatt became lieutenant governor. The Grafton brothers, Cornelius ( "Chip" ), father of noted mystery novelist,Sue Grafton,and Arthur had formed the firm with Wyatt. Chip Grafton's practice was heavily oriented to representation of municipal bond issuers. Wyatt's position as lieutenant governor presented aconflict of interestfor the law firm. As a result, Chip left the firm and instead formed Harper, Ferguson, Grafton & Fleischer. The Wyatt firm became known as Wyatt, Grafton & Sloss, with partner Robert L. Sloss elevated to name status.
After completing his term as governor, Combs was appointed a federal appellate judge. He resigned this position to seek another term as governor in 1971, but he was defeated in the Democratic primary by his former executive secretaryWendell H. Ford.Combs then resumed the practice of law with the old line Louisville firm of Bullitt, Dawson and Tarrant, which was renamed Tarrant, Combs & Bullitt. In the early 1980s, after Wyatt's retirement, Gordon Davidson, the managing partner of the Wyatt firm, and Combs engineered the merger of the two firms, forming Kentucky's largest law firm, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs.
Vice President Hubert Humphrey had Wyatt play an important role at the1968 Democratic National Convention,again in Chicago. Wyatt, who twenty-four years earlier had soothed the hurt feelings of Alben Barkley, then devised a compromise over the party's platform plank in regard to the lingeringVietnam War.
For the remainder of his life, Wyatt was active in the legal community and with civic affairs in Kentucky. He and his wife, Anne, donated $500,000 to theJefferson Countypublic schools to create scholarships for high school debaters, and another $500,000 to the law school at the University of Louisville, where he had once served as chairman of the trustees. The university in 1995 named its law school building after Wyatt. He served a term as chairman of the board of trustees atBellarmine University;a sizeable donation from the Wyatts funds a lecture series at the school.
Death
editWyatt died in 1996.
References
edit- ^Tapp, Hambleton (1966).Kentucky lives: the Blue Grass State who's who; a reference edition recording the biographies of contemporary leaders in Kentucky.Hopkinsville, Ky: Historical Record Association. pp. 611–612.
- ^David M. Jordan,FDR, Dewey, and the Election of 1944,Blomington:Indiana University Press,2011, pp. 165, 167,ISBN978-0-253-35683-3
- ^Stars and Stripes May 31, 1963
Further reading
edit- Pearce, John Ed (1987).Divide and Dissent: Kentucky Politics, 1930-1963.University Press of Kentucky.ISBN0-8131-1613-9.
- Wyatt, Sr., Wilson W. (1985).Whistle Stops: Adventures in Public Life.University Press of Kentucky.ISBN0-8131-1537-X.