Lieutenant Clifford A. Jones Preceded by Maurice J. Sullivan Name Vail Pittman Party Democratic Party Siblings Key Pittman | Preceded by Edward P. Carville Political party Democratic Role Former Governor of Nevada Succeeded by Charles H. Russell | |
Born September 17, 1883
Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S. ( 1883-09-17 ) Resting place Masonic Memorial Gardens
Reno, Nevada, U.S. Died January 29, 1964, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Education Sewanee: The University of the South Previous office Governor of Nevada (1945–1951) | ||
Vail Montgomery Pittman (September 17, 1880 – January 29, 1964) was an American politician. He was the 19th Governor of Nevada. He was a member of the Democratic Party.
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Biography
Pittman was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi. He went to the University of the South and Brown's Business College. Pittman was the younger brother of Key Pittman, a longtime United States Senator from Nevada.
Career
Pittman moved to Tonopah, Nevada in 1904 and began a successful newspaper publishing career. He met Ida Louise Brewington there and they married in Reno, Nevada on May 20, 1919. He and his wife bought the "Ely Daily Times" in Ely, Nevada and moved there in April of 1920 and began what was to be a very successful business. Elected to the Nevada State Senate, Pittman was in the position from 1925 to 1928.
Pittman was elected the 19th Lieutenant Governor of Nevada in 1942. He was a candidate in the Democratic primary for United States Senate in 1944, but was defeated by the incumbent, Pat McCarran. He became governor when Edward P. Carville resigned in 1945. He was elected in 1946 to a term of his own and Pittman served until 1951. He and his wife moved back to Ely and continued operating the "Ely Daily Times" and traveling extensively. He served as a member of the 1960 Democratic National Committee.
Death
Pittman died from cancer on January 29, 1964 in a hospital in San Francisco, California at the age of 80. He is interred at Masonic Memorial Gardens, Reno, Washoe County, Nevada USA.