Ellis Ellwood Patterson (November 28, 1897 – August 25, 1985) was a one-term Democratic California congressman. Born in

Yuba City, California Yuba City (Maidu: ''Yubu'') is a city in Northern California and the county seat of Sutter County, California, United States. The population was 70,117 at the 2020 census. Yuba City is the principal city of the Yuba City Metropolitan Statistic ...

, he served as representative between 1945 and 1947. Patterson also served in the California State Assembly. He was also the 33rd Lieutenant Governor of California, 1939-43.

Early life and career

Born in Yuba City, California, Patterson attended public schools and graduated from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...

in 1921. He served as a seaman in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in 1917 and 1918 during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, and taught school in

Colusa County, California Colusa County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,839. The county seat is Colusa. It is in the North Valley of California, northwest of the state capital, Sacramento. History ...

from 1922 to 1924. From 1923 to 1932, Patterson served as the district superintendent of schools for South

Monterey County, California Monterey County ( ), officially the County of Monterey, is a county located on the Pacific coast in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, its population was 439,035. The county's largest city and county seat is Salinas. Monte ...

. He also studied law at Stanford University and the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

from 1931 to 1936. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1937 and commenced law practice in

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

Political career

Patterson served as a member of the California State Assembly for the 35th district from 1931 to 1939. In 1936, after being defeated in the primaries in his second re-election bid, Patterson waged a

write-in campaign A write-in candidate is a candidate whose name does not appear on the ballot but seeks election by asking voters to cast a vote for the candidate by physically writing in the person's name on the ballot. Depending on electoral law it may be poss ...

and won the election. Originally elected as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

, Patterson switched his party affiliation to Democrat after becoming enamored with President

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 ...

's New Deal. After gaining publicity for his write-in Assembly campaign, Patterson was elected Lieutenant Governor of California, and served from 1938 to 1942. He was defeated in 1942. He was elected as a Democrat to the

79th United States Congress The 79th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, DC from January 3, 1945, ...

in 1944. In 1946, he did not seek renomination for his House seat, but instead was an unsuccessful candidate for nomination for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. Patterson was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the

81st United States Congress The 81st United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from January 3, 19 ...

in 1948, and resumed the practice of law.

Later career and death

He was a resident of Los Angeles until his death there, of cancer, on August 25, 1985.

References

External links

Congressional biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Ellis E. 1897 births 1985 deaths Members of the California State Assembly Members of the United States House of Representatives from California Lieutenant Governors of California California Republicans Deaths from cancer in California 20th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California