Peter Oliphant Knight (December 16, 1865 – November 26, 1946) was a lawyer in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. He is the namesake of Peter O. Knight Airport on Davis Islands, and of the

Holland & Knight Holland & Knight LLP is an American multinational law firm with more than 1,700 lawyers and other professionals in 35 offices in the United States, Europe, Latin America, and North Africa. Headquartered in Tampa, Florida, the firm provides repre ...

law firm. Knight was born in

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. His father died when he was nine years old. He was a graduate of

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. He was photographed with other legislators at the state capitol. He was the second mayor of

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

in 1886. In 1887, he helped to establish Lee County. He came to Tampa around 1890, as the law partner of Judge Joseph B. Wall. Knight served as the state attorney for Hillsborough County from 1893 to 1899. He was president of ampa Electric Company, now TECO Energy, Inc.,from 1924 to 1946. He helped organize the Exchange National Bank. Knight declined President

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party, he was one of the most popular sitting U.S. presidents. A ...

's invitation to become a justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. His house in Hyde Park serves as the headquarters of the Tampa Historical Society. He has a bronze bust on the

Tampa Riverwalk The Tampa Riverwalk is a open space and pedestrian trail along the Hillsborough River in Tampa, Florida. The Riverwalk extends along most of the downtown Tampa waterfront from the Channelside District on the eastern terminus to the mouth of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Peter O. 1865 births 1946 deaths People from Pennsylvania Valparaiso University alumni Politicians from Tampa, Florida Lawyers from Tampa, Florida Holland & Knight people American lawyers People from Fort Myers, Florida