William Bankhead

William Brockman Bankhead (born April 12, 1874 in Moscow, Lamar County, died September 15, 1940 in Washington, D. C.) was a U. S. Representative and the Speaker of the House. William followed his father's footsteps and went into politics following a brief career as a lawyer. As a young man he was known as a brilliant public speaker and for his fun-loving personality. He was a member of the Phi Delta Theta International Fraternity, Inc., at the University of Alabama. He served in the U. S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1917 until his death and as Speaker of the House from 1936 until his death. If Bankhead were Speaker today, he would be third in the line of Presidential succession and would be one of the highest ranking government officials from Alabama according to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947. However, no such law existed until seven years after his death. Bankhead was the only person ever elected to Alabama's 10th congressional district. The district was eliminated after apportionment based on the 1910 census. John Abercrombie had been elected at large but Bankhead was directly elected to the office. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

A Notable Family

In his early days, he thought about becoming an actor, a career taken up by his daughter, Tallulah Bankhead, who gained quite a bit of notoriety as an actress and bonne vivante. Senator John H. Bankhead was his father, and John H. Bankhead, II was his brother. His mother was Tallulah James Brockman, of the South Carolina Brockman family and the namesake of his daughter. His grandfather was Thomas Patterson Brockman, a South Carolina Senator. The William B. Bankhead National Forest is named in his honor.

References

• William B. Bankhead. (2008, January 16). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 14:52, February 26, 2008.

External links

• William B. Bankhead at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress