Fritz G. Lanham

Fritz G. Lanham
National Photo Company Collection, Library of Congress
Chairman of the House Committee on Public Buildings and Grounds
In office March 4, 1931 – January 3, 1947
Preceded by	Richard N. Elliott
Succeeded by	George A. Dondero (as chairman of the Committee on Public Works)
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromTexas's12thdistrict
In office April 19, 1919 – January 3, 1947
Preceded by	James C. Wilson
Succeeded by	Wingate H. Lucas
Personal details
Born	Frederick Garland Lanham (1880-01-03)January 3, 1880 Weatherford, Texas
Died	July 31, 1965(1965-07-31)(aged 85) Austin, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Beulah Rowe ​ ​ (m.1908;died 1930)​ Hazel Head ​ (m.1931)​
Parent(s)	S. W. T. Lanham Sarah Beona Meng
Alma mater	Weatherford College University of Texas at Austin
Profession	Lawyer

Frederick Garland "Fritz" Lanham(January 3, 1880 – July 31, 1965) was aDemocraticmember of theUnited States House of Representativesfrom the state ofTexas.

Early life

Born inWeatherford, Texas,Lanham was the son of Sarah Beona (née Meng) andSamuel Willis Tucker Lanham,later an eight term member of the U.S. House of Representatives andGovernor of Texas.He was given the nickname "Fritz" by a neighbor. During his father's congressional career, he attended public schools inWashington, D.C.,and went on to earn asB.A.fromWeatherford Collegein 1897. He attendedVanderbilt Universityfrom 1897 to 1898, and then theUniversity of Texas at Austin,where he was the first editor of the student newspaper,The Texan,graduating in 1900.

After serving as his father's secretary and working in a Weatherford bank, Lanham returned to UT to study law. He subsequently held jobs at the Texas School for the Deaf inAustinand atThe Dallas Morning News.An amateur magician, he wrote two musical comedies with his brother, as well as toured with a stage company in 1907. Although he did not earn a legal degree, Lanham was admitted to thebarin 1909, commencing practice in Weatherford. In addition, he was the first editor ofThe Alcalde,the UT alumni magazine, from 1913. DuringWorld War I,he spoke atLiberty bonddrives, solicited subscriptions for theRed Cross,and entertained troops in camps aroundFort Worth.

Political career

Lanham's first run for office, forParker CountyAttorney, was unsuccessful and he subsequently moved to Fort Worth in 1917, becoming an assistant county attorney inTarrant County.In 1919, he won a special election to Congress inTexas's 12th congressional district,succeeding fellow DemocratJames Clifton Wilson,who resigned to accept a judgeship on theU.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas.He was reelected thirteen times, serving until his retirement in 1946.

In Congress, Lanham served on the committee on theDistrict of Columbia,the Committee on Patents, theCommittee on Public Lands,and theCommittee on Public Buildings and Grounds,the last of which he became chairman of starting in 1931. He was the lead sponsor of the National Housing for Defense Act and theCommunity Facilities Act of 1940 (the Lanham Act),both of which passed just prior to American entry intoWorld War II,as well as theLanham Act,a standing federal law which protects againsttrademark infringement,trademark dilution,andfalse advertising.

After retiring from Congress he remained in Washington as a lobbyist for the National Patent Council, the American Fair Trade Council, and the Trinity Improvement Association of Texas, which he was named vice president of in 1946.

Marriages and death

Lanham was married twice: first to Beulah Rowe of Austin on October 27, 1908, and then, following her death in 1930, he married Hazel Head on November 17, 1931. He moved to Austin in 1963, where he died on July 31, 1965, of a heart attack. He was buried at City Greenwood Cemetery in Weatherford.

The Fritz G. Lanham Federal Building in Fort Worth, built in 1966, is named in his honor.

External links

• Fritz G. LanhamatFind a Grave