John Conover Nichols (August 31, 1896November 7, 1945) was an American lawyer,

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 ...

veteran, and politician who served four terms as a

U.S. 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 c ...

from Oklahoma from 1935 to 1943.

Biography

Born in

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper and Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. Joplin is the largest city located within both Jas ...

, Nichols was the son of John Adams and Mary Catherine Conover Nichols. He attended the

public school Public school may refer to: * State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government * Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England an ...

s in

, and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the

teachers college A normal school or normal college is an institution created to train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high school level, turni ...

at Emporia, Kansas. He married Marion Young in Tulsa on March 30, 1921. She was the daughter of William Buford and Nina Young of Eufaula. The Nichols had a daughter, Nina Jean, and a son, Dan. He studied law in the office of his brother in

Eufaula, Oklahoma Eufaula is a city and county seat of McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,813 at the 2010 census, an increase of 6.6 percent from 2,639 in 2000. Eufaula is in the southern part of the county, north of McAlester and ...

; and was admitted to the bar association in 1926 and commenced practice in

Career

During

Nichols served in the 19th Infantry,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

from 1917 to 1919. Nichols was elected as a

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 ...

to the

74th Congress The 74th 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, 1935, ...

and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1935, until his resignation on July 3, 1943, to become vice president of Transcontinental & Western Airlines. While in office, he served on the Rivers and Harbors, Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Territories Committees. In 1935 and 1937 he was also a member of a special committee that went to Hawaii to hold hearings on statehood. His legislative interests focused on American Indians, soil conservation, old-age pensions, Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) camps, and aviation.

Death

Still vice president of Transcontinental & Western Airlines, Nichols died in an airplane crash at Asmara in Eritrea (then under a British Military Administration), on November 7, 1945. He was originally

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

in the United States military cemetery at Asmara, Eritrea, but his body was later moved and reinterred at Greenwood Cemetery in

References

External links

Retrieved on 2009-02-22
John C. Nichols Collection
at the

Carl Albert Center The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center is a nonpartisan institution devoted to teaching and research related to the United States Congress and, more broadly, to strengthening representative democracy through engaged and infor ...

*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, John Conover 1896 births 1945 deaths Politicians from Joplin, Missouri People from Eufaula, Oklahoma Emporia State University alumni Oklahoma lawyers United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War I Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Eritrea Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American lawyers