Luther Patrick (January 23, 1894 – May 26, 1957) 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

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

Early life

Born near

Decatur, Alabama Decatur (dɪˈkeɪtə(r)) is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County (with a portion also in Limestone County) in the U.S. state of Alabama. Nicknamed "The River City", it is located in northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake ...

, Patrick attended the local public schools,

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 nea ...

at Baton Rouge, and

Purdue University Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette ( , ) is a city in and the county seat of Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, located northwest of Indianapolis and southeast of Chicago. West Lafayette, on the other side of the Wabash River, is home to Purdue University, whi ...

. He graduated from the law department of the

University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the public ...

in 1918. During the First World War, Patrick served as a private. He was assigned to the Army training detachment and to the Central Officers' Training School, from June 14, 1918, to December 4, 1918. 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 1919 and commenced practice in

Fairfield, Alabama Fairfield is a city in western Jefferson County, Alabama, United States. It is part of the Birmingham metropolitan area and is located southeast of Pleasant Grove. The population was 11,117 at the 2010 census. History This city was founded i ...

. He was author of many poems and books. He served as the city attorney of Fairfield from 1920 until 1922. He began a career as a radio commentator in 1925. He served as assistant attorney general of Alabama 1927–1929. He served as assistant United States district attorney of the northern Alabama district in 1933 and 1934.

Political career

Patrick 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 Seventy-fifth. He ran in the

Democratic primary This is a list of Democratic Party presidential primaries. 1912 This was the first time that candidates were chosen through primaries. New Jersey Governor Woodrow Wilson ran to become the nominee, and faced the opposition of Speaker of the Uni ...

that constituted the competitive contest in Alabama at the time on a platform that ardently supported President Roosevelt's

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

. He successfully defeated incumbent Congressman

George Huddleston George Huddleston (November 11, 1869 – February 29, 1960) was a U.S. Representative from Alabama, father of George Huddleston, Jr. Life and career Huddleston was born on a farm near Lebanon, Tennessee, the son of Nancy Emeline (Sherrill) ...

on this platform in 1936 in a hard-fought campaign that saw Congressman Huddleston strike Patrick with a sauce bottle in a restaurant after a heated argument. He was reelected to the Seventy-sixth and Seventy-seventh Congresses. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1942, and served as a consultant to the

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 ...

in 1943 and 1944, before winning back his seat in the Seventy-ninth Congress (January 3, 1945 – January 3, 1947). He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1946 and resumed law practice in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

. He served as delegate to 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 ...

in 1956. According to ''Variety'': "Patrick, running as a radio wit and debunker, astonished seasoned politicians when he ran without a platform, without professing to know anything about complex economic problems and without promising anybody anything."Variety, October 14, 1936 (https://archive.org/stream/variety124-1936-10#page/n96/mode/1up/)

Death

His death occurred in

. He was interred in Elmwood Cemetery.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patrick, Luther 1894 births 1957 deaths Politicians from Decatur, Alabama Louisiana State University alumni Purdue University alumni Military personnel from Alabama Alabama lawyers University of Alabama School of Law alumni United States Army soldiers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Alabama Assistant United States Attorneys American commentators American radio personalities 20th-century American politicians Burials at Elmwood Cemetery (Birmingham, Alabama) 20th-century American lawyers