John Sparkman

John Sparkman
United States Senator from Alabama
In office November 6, 1946 – January 3, 1979
Preceded by	George R. Swift
Succeeded by	Howell Heflin
11th Majority Whip of the United States House of Representatives
In office 1946–1946
Leader	John W. McCormack
Preceded by	Robert Ramspeck
Succeeded by	Leslie C. Arends
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alabama's 8th district
In office January 3, 1937 – November 6, 1946
Preceded by	Archibald Hill Carmichael
Succeeded by	Robert E. Jones, Jr.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
In office January 3, 1975 – January 3, 1979
Preceded by	J. William Fulbright
Succeeded by	Frank Church
Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
In office 1966–1975
Preceded by	A. Willis Robertson
Succeeded by	William Proxmire
Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Small Business
In office 1955–1966
Preceded by	Edward John Thye
Succeeded by	George Smathers
Personal details
Born	December 20, 1899 Hartselle, Alabama
Died	November 16, 1985(1985-11-16) (aged 85) Huntsville, Alabama
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Ivo Sparkman
Alma mater	University of Alabama
Religion	Methodist
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Unit	Student Army Training Corps, World War I

John Jackson Sparkman (December 20, 1899 – November 16, 1985) was an American politician from the state of Alabama. A conservative Southern Democrat, Sparkman served in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate from 1937 until 1979. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President as Adlai Stevenson's running mate in the 1952 U.S. presidential election. Sparkman High School in Harvest, Alabama and Sparkman School in Somerville, Alabama are named in his honor.

[edit] Early life and education

Sparkman was born on a farm near Hartselle, Alabama. He attended the rural schools and helped on the family farm. During World War I, he was a member of the Students Army Training Corps. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1921 and from University of Alabama School of Law in 1923. Sparkman was a founding member of the Gamma Alpha Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha.

[edit] Legal career

From left: President Harry S. Truman, Senator Sparkman (1952 Vice Presidential nominee) and Adlai Stevenson II (Governor, 1952 Presidential nominee) in the Oval Office

John Sparkman was admitted to the bar in 1925 and commenced practice in Huntsville. He was an instructor at Huntsville College from 1925 to 1928. A Freemason, he was life member of Helion Lodge#1 in Huntsville. He was also member of the Huntsville Scottish Rite bodies and a recipient of the Knight Commander Court of Honor (KCCH).

[edit] Political career

In 1970 Wernher von Braun (right) was honored for his career in Huntsville, Alabama, with the celebration of "Wernher von Braun Day." Among those participating were Sparkman (center) and Alabama Governor Albert Brewer (left).

Sparkman was elected as a Democrat to the U.S. House of Representatives in the 1936 election. He was reelected in 1938, 1940, 1942, and 1944, serving in the 75th, 76th, 77th, 78th, and 79th Congresses. In 1946 he served as House Majority Whip. He was reelected in the 1946 House election to the 80th Congress and on the same date was elected to the United States Senate in a special election to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John H. Bankhead II for the term ending January 3, 1949. Sparkman resigned from the House of Representatives immediately following the election and began his Senate term on November 6, 1946. He served until his retirement on January 3, 1979, after not running for reelection in 1978.

He was chairman of the Select Committee on Small Business (81st, 82nd, and 84th through 90th Congresses), co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Inaugural Arrangements (86th Congress), chairman of the Committee on Banking and Currency (90th and 91st Congresses), co-chairman of the Joint Committee on Defense Production (91st and 93rd Congresses), Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs (92nd and 93rd Congresses), and a member of the Committee on Foreign Relations (94th and 95th Congress).

The 1943 Sparkman Act, which allowed women physicians to be commissioned as officers in the armed forces, was named for him, after lobbying by Dr. Emily Dunning Barringer.

Sparkman was a representative of the United States at the Fifth General Assembly of the United Nations in 1950.

In 1952, he was the Democratic Party's nominee for Vice President, running of the ticket of Adlai Stevenson. However, the election was won by the Republican candidate, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In 1956, Sparkman was one of 82 representatives and 19 senators who signed the Southern Manifesto, opposing the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education and racial integration. Because of that, the Democrats did not choose him as Stevenson's running mate that year, opting instead for Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee.^{[citation needed]}

John Sparkman died of natural causes in a nursing home in Huntsville, Alabama in 1985 at age 85. Survived by his wife and daughter, he was interred in historic Maple Hill Cemetery in Huntsville.

[edit] Electoral history

1972 Alabama United States Senatorial Election

1966 Alabama United States Senatorial Election

1960 Alabama United States Senatorial Election

1954 Alabama United States Senatorial Election

1952 United States Presidential Election (Vice President's seat)

1948 Alabama United States Senatorial Election

1946 Alabama United States Senatorial Election

John Sparkman (D) Unopposed

[edit] External links

Biography portal

A history of Senator Sparkman's career in the House of Representatives was written in 1990 by Dr. Henry Walker.

• John Sparkman at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• John Sparkman and the History Of Redstone Arsenal
• John Sparkman at Find a Grave

v · d · eUnited States Senators from Alabama Class 2 King • Lewis • Fitzpatrick • Clemens • C. Claiborne Clay • Warner • Goldthwaite • Morgan • Bankhead, Sr. • Comer • J. Heflin • Bankhead, Jr. • Swift • Sparkman • H. Heflin • Sessions Class 3 Walker • Kelly • Chambers • Pickens • McKinley • Moore • McKinley • C. Comer Clay • Bagby • King • Fitzpatrick • Spencer • Houston • Pryor • Pugh • Pettus • Johnston • White • Underwood • Black • Graves • Hill • J. Allen • M. Allen • Stewart • Denton • Shelby

v · d · eMajority Whips of the United States House of Representatives Tawney • Watson • Dwight • Bell • Knutson • Vestal • McDuffie • Greenwood • Boland • Ramspeck • Sparkman • Arends • Priest • Arends • Albert • Boggs • O'Neill • McFall • Brademas • Foley • Coelho • Gray • Bonior • DeLay • Blunt • Clyburn • McCarthy

v · d · eDemocratic Whips of the United States House of Representatives Underwood • Lloyd • Bell • Oldfield • McDuffie • Greenwood • Boland • Ramspeck • Sparkman • McCormack • Priest • McCormack • Albert • Boggs • O'Neill • McFall • Brademas • Foley • Coelho • Gray •Bonior • Pelosi • Hoyer • Clyburn • Hoyer

v · d · eChairmen of the United States Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee on Banking and Currency 1913-1970 Owen • McLean • Norbeck • Fletcher • Wagner • Tobey • Maybank • Capehart • Fulbright • Robertson • Sparkman Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 1970-Pres. Sparkman • Proxmire • Garn • Proxmire • Riegle • D'Amato • Gramm • Sarbanes • Gramm • Sarbanes • Shelby • Dodd • Johnson

v · d · eChairmen of the United States Congress Joint Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies Hanna (1901) • Spooner (1905) • Knox (1909) • Crane (1913) • Overman (1917) • Knox (1921) • Curtis (1925) • Moses (1929) • Robinson (1933) • Neely (1937) • Neely (1941) • Byrd (1945) • Hayden (1949) • Bridges (1953) • Bridges (1957) • Sparkman (1961) • Jordan (1965) • Dirksen (1969) • Cannon (1973) • Cannon (1977) • Hatfield (1981) • Baker (1985) • Ford (1989) • Ford (1993) • Warner (1997) • McConnell (2001) • Lott (2005) • Feinstein (2009)