Name William Whittington | Role Politician | |
Died August 20, 1962, Greenwood, Mississippi, United States Education University of Mississippi, Mississippi College | ||
William Madison Whittington (May 4, 1878 – August 20, 1962) was a Democratic politician from Mississippi. Whittington was a Representative to the 69th United States Congress in 1925, and the twelve succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1925-January 3, 1951).
Born in Little Springs, Mississippi, Whittington attended the public schools of Franklin County. He graduated from Mississippi College at Clinton in 1898 and from the law department of the University of Mississippi at Oxford in 1899 where he was a member of St. Anthony Hall, also known as the Delta Psi fraternity. He was admitted to the bar in 1899 and commenced practice in Roxie, Mississippi, January 1, 1901. In January 1904 he moved to Greenwood, Mississippi, where he continued the practice of law and also engaged in agricultural pursuits. He served as a member of the city council, Greenwood, Mississippi, from January 1, 1907, to January 1, 1911. He served as member of the State senate from January 1, 1916, to January 1, 1920. He was reelected in 1923 for a four-year term and served from January 1 to August 16, 1924, when he resigned to accept the Democratic nomination for Representative in Congress. He served as delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1920, 1928, 1936, 1940, and 1948.
Due to Jim Crow laws, Whittington was elected to the House by just 4,000 people, despite living in a district of 435,000.
He served as chairman of the Committee on Flood Control (Seventy-fifth through Seventy-ninth Congresses), Committee on Public Works (Eighty-first Congress). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1950, when he resumed the practice of law.
He was a resident of Greenwood, Mississippi, until his death August 20, 1962, and was interred in Odd Fellows Cemetery.