Byron Nicholson Scott (March 21, 1903 – December 21, 1991) was an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. The

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Scott served as the second

United States Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for

California's 18th congressional district California's 18th congressional district is a congressional district located in the U.S. state of California. The district is currently represented by . It includes portions of Santa Clara, San Mateo, and Santa Cruz counties, extending from ...

for two terms, from 1935 to 1939.

Background

Scott was born on March 21, 1903, in Council Grove in

Morris County, Kansas Morris County (standard abbreviation: MR) is a county located in the U.S. state of Kansas. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 5,386. The largest city and county seat is Council Grove. History Early history For many millennia, ...

. He was raised in Council Grove, and went through the town's public school system. He went to the

University of Kansas at Lawrence The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. Tw ...

, and graduated from the school in 1924. After graduating, Scott became a teacher in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, and taught there until 1926. Afterwards, he moved to go teach at public schools in

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

. During the while, he went to the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

where he obtained is master's degree in 1930. He taught in Long Beach until 1934, when he got involved in politics.

Politics

Scott first served as a delegate to the

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Democratic state convention in 1934. Scott also ran for the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

seat for California's recently formed 18th congressional district. After getting the Democratic nomination, he ran against Republican William Brayton. Scott defeated Brayton by capturing 56.3% of the vote, in comparison to his 43.2%. From June 23, 1936, to June 27, 1936, he served as a delegate in the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

held at

Convention Hall Convention Hall was a convention center in Kansas City, Missouri that hosted the 1900 Democratic National Convention and 1928 Republican National Convention. It was designed by Frederick E. Hill and built at the corner of 13th and Central and cos ...

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, in which they renominated

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

to be the presidential candidate, and

John Nance Garner John Nance Garner III (November 22, 1868 – November 7, 1967), known among his contemporaries as "Cactus Jack", was an American History of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic politician and lawyer from History of Texas, Texas who ...

as his vice-presidential running mate. Later that year, Scott ran for re-election as the representative for the 18th district, and easily defeated Republican challenger James F. Collins by more than 18,000 votes in a 58.9%-41.0% majority. In the 1938 House elections, Scott was challenged by Thomas M. Eaton. In a close race, Eaton squeezed past Scott by a mere 342 vote, or 0.3% margin. For the next two years, he served as the secretary of the California state Highway Commission. Scott again ran for the seat in 1940, but lost to Republican challenger Ward Johnson by a nearly 10% majority.Moore (1994), pg. 1189 After spending 1941 and 1942 in the

construction Construction is a general term meaning the art and science to form objects, systems, or organizations,"Construction" def. 1.a. 1.b. and 1.c. ''Oxford English Dictionary'' Second Edition on CD-ROM (v. 4.0) Oxford University Press 2009 and com ...

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

, Scott served on Roosevelt's

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

War Production Board The War Production Board (WPB) was an agency of the United States government that supervised war production during World War II. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established it in January 1942, with Executive Order 9024. The WPB replaced the Sup ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, until the end of the war in 1945.

Law practice

Scott spent the next few years pursuing his

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree from the

National University School of Law National University School of Law was an American law school founded in Washington, D.C. in 1869. Originally intended as part of a larger design for a national university in the United States, the school was the principal component of National Unive ...

. After graduating in 1949, he was admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C., where he started up his practice. From 1953 to 1955, he represented

U.S. Treasury The Department of the Treasury (USDT) is the national treasury and finance department of the federal government of the United States, where it serves as an executive department. The department oversees the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and th ...

official

William Henry Taylor William Henry Taylor (30 March 1906 – January 1965) was a Canadian-born U.S. Treasury economist accused by Elizabeth Bentley of having been a Soviet spy. Life Taylor, born in British Columbia, studied at the University of British Columbia and ...

before the

International Organization Employees Loyalty Board International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

(IOELB). In 1954, he represented

official

George A. Eddy George A. Eddy (June 15, 1907 – April 13, 1998) was an American economist who served in the Federal Reserve and U.S. Treasury Department between 1934 and 1954. He was in Harry Dexter White's Division of Monetary Research. Between 1948 and 19 ...

during congressional loyalty/security hearings related to ongoing investigations into Eddy's Treasury superior

Harry Dexter White Harry Dexter White (October 29, 1892 – August 16, 1948) was a senior U.S. Treasury department official. Working closely with the Secretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau Jr., he helped set American financial policy toward the Allies of World W ...

. In 1959, he represented

Frank Kameny Franklin Edward Kameny (May 21, 1925 – October 11, 2011) was an American gay rights activist. He has been referred to as "one of the most significant figures" in the American gay rights movement. In 1957, Kameny was dismissed from his po ...

in his lawsuit against the Secretary of the Army. Kameny, who had been fired "for homosexuality", filed the case challenging the US Government's ban on homosexual employees. After summary judgment was granted at the Justice Department's request, Scott represented Kameny in his appeal. Kameny worked alone after losing appeal, basing his Petition for Writ of Certiorari on a sample provided by Scott. His was the first

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

case to be presented to the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

. Although the Court denied him certiorari, On June 29, 2009, John Berry (Director of the Office of Personnel Management) formally apologized to Kameny on behalf of the United States government. Kameny's filings and other papers are housed in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

. Scott retired from his law practice in 1979, and lived as a resident of

Sun City, California Sun City is a former census-designated place (CDP) in Riverside County, California, Riverside County, California, United States, and now a neighborhood of the city of Menifee, California. Along with the neighboring communities of Quail Valley, Men ...

, until his death on December 21, 1991, at the age of 88.

References

External links

Biography
at the ''

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress The ''Biographical Directory of the United States Congress'' (Bioguide) is a biographical dictionary of all present and former members of the United States Congress and its predecessor, the Continental Congress. Also included are Delegates from ...

''
The Political Graveyard profile for Byron N. Scott
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Byron N. Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California University of Kansas alumni University of Southern California alumni 1903 births 1991 deaths 20th-century American politicians People from Council Grove, Kansas

Background

Politics

Law practice

See also

References

External links