John Newton Tillman (December 13, 1859 – March 9, 1929) was 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

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

. In the

Arkansas State Senate The Arkansas State Senate is the upper branch of the Arkansas General Assembly. The Senate consists of 35 members, each representing a district with about 83,000 people. Service in the state legislature is part-time, and many state senators have ...

he proposed the Separate Coach Law of 1891, a

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the Southern United States. Other areas of the United States were affected by formal and informal policies of segregation as well, but many states outside the Sout ...

law to segregate African American passengers. The bill became law. Born near

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, Tillman attended the common schools, and graduated from the

University of Arkansas at Fayetteville The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

in 1880. He taught school while studying law, and 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 1883, commencing practice in

Fayetteville, Arkansas Fayetteville () is the second-largest city in Arkansas, the county seat of Washington County, and the biggest city in Northwest Arkansas. The city is on the outskirts of the Boston Mountains, deep within the Ozarks. Known as Washington until ...

. He served as clerk of the circuit court of Washington County from 1884 to 1889, and served in the

from 1888 to 1892. From 1892 to 1898, he served as prosecuting attorney of the fourth judicial circuit, and served as judge of the same circuit court from 1900 to 1905. He served as president of the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas. It is the flagship campus of the University of Arkansas System and the largest university in the state. Founded as Arkansas ...

from 1905 to 1912. Tillman 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 Sixty-fourth and to the six succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1929). He was one of the managers appointed by the House of Representatives in 1926 to conduct the impeachment proceedings against

George W. English George Washington English (May 9, 1866 – July 19, 1941) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois. Charged with abuse of power and other offenses, English was impeached by the U ...

, judge of the

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Illinois (in case citations, E.D. Ill.) is a former federal district court for the state of Illinois. The court was established on March 3, 1905, by 33 Stat. 992. The Northern and South ...

. Tillman did not seek renomination in 1928. He died in

on March 9, 1929, and was interred in Evergreen Cemetery.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tillman, John Newton 1859 births 1929 deaths Leaders of the University of Arkansas Democratic Party Arkansas state senators Arkansas state court judges Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas