Wilson Watkins Wyatt (November 21, 1905 – June 11, 1996) was an American politician who served as
Mayor of Louisville, Kentucky from 1941 to 1945 and as the 43rd
Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky from 1959 to 1963. He was a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
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.
Early life and education
Wyatt was born in
Louisville
Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border.
...
to Richard H. and Mary (Watkins) Wyatt and attended the
University of Louisville
The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one o ...
and the
University of Louisville School of Law
The University of Louisville Louis D. Brandeis School of Law, commonly referred to as The University of Louisville School of Law, U of L Brandeis School of Law, or the Brandeis School of Law, is the law school of the University of Louisville. E ...
. He was admitted to the bar in 1927. He was the principal counsel for ''
The Louisville Courier-Journal'' and other
Bingham family-owned media companies prior to launching his political career.
Career
Early career
Wyatt's political career began with his election as the mayor of Louisville in 1941. He took office just after the
bombing of Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Haw ...
. Wyatt made
civil defense a priority in his city and also initiated Louisville's planning and zoning commission.
Politics and diplomacy
At the
1944 Democratic National Convention
The 1944 Democratic National Convention was held at the Chicago Stadium in Chicago, Illinois from July 19 to July 21, 1944. The convention resulted in the nomination of President Franklin D. Roosevelt for an unprecedented fourth term. Senator ...
in
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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, Wyatt was called upon to advise
U.S. Senator Alben W. Barkley of Kentucky, who was scheduled to give the nomination speech for
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
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 ...
. Barkley at first said he would not make the speech after FDR passed him up for the
vice-presidential recommendation in favor of
Harry S. Truman
Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...
of
Missouri
Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...
.
James A. Farley, FDR's former
Postmaster General
A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official responsib ...
and Barkley confidant, agreed with Wyatt and insisted that Barkley give what is recalled as a particularly effective oration on Roosevelt's behalf.
As Wyatt's term as mayor of Louisville ended,
President Truman, who in 1948 did tap Barkley as his vice-presidential choice, appointed Wyatt as United States Housing Expediter for the
Office of War Mobilization, a position given
Cabinet-level rank.
With
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt () (October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the first lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945, during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four ...
,
Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.,
Hubert Humphrey
Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...
, and others, Wyatt took a leading role in the founding and leadership of the
interest group
Advocacy groups, also known as interest groups, special interest groups, lobbying groups or pressure groups use various forms of advocacy in order to influence public opinion and ultimately policy. They play an important role in the developm ...
,
Americans for Democratic Action
Americans for Democratic Action (ADA) is a liberal American political organization advocating progressive policies. ADA views itself as supporting social and economic justice through lobbying, grassroots organizing, research, and supporting pro ...
. He was the first ADA chairman of the group in 1947.
Wyatt was campaign manager for
Adlai Stevenson's 1952 presidential campaign and played a prominent role in Stevenson's 1956 presidential campaign. Both ended in losses to
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
.
In 1959, Wyatt planned to run for
governor of Kentucky
The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-e ...
. Instead, he ran for
lieutenant governor with
Bert T. Combs at the top of the ticket. Combs and Wyatt were both elected and served in those offices from 1959 through 1963. Combs' administration created the Kentucky Economic Development Commission, with Wyatt as its chairman.
In 1962, Wyatt was the unsuccessful Democratic nominee for the United States Senate but lost the election to the
moderate Republican incumbent,
Thruston B. Morton.
In 1963, President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...
appointed Wyatt as a special envoy to
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
. Wyatt's mission was successful and Sukarno did not take over foreign-owned elements of the Indonesian oil industry, as had occurred in
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
in 1938.
Return to law
After leaving the lieutenant governor's office in 1963, Wyatt returned to the law firm which he had co-founded in the late 1940s. Originally known as Wyatt, Grafton & Grafton, the firm had changed name partners when Wyatt became lieutenant governor. The Grafton brothers, Cornelius ("Chip"), father of noted mystery novelist,
Sue Grafton, and Arthur had formed the firm with Wyatt. Chip Grafton's practice was heavily oriented to representation of municipal bond issuers. Wyatt's position as lieutenant governor presented a
conflict of interest for the law firm. As a result, Chip left the firm and instead formed Harper, Ferguson, Grafton & Fleischer. The Wyatt firm became known as Wyatt, Grafton & Sloss, with partner Robert L. Sloss elevated to name status.
After completing his term as governor, Combs was appointed a federal appellate judge. He resigned this position to seek another term as governor in 1971, but he was defeated in the Democratic primary by his former executive secretary
Wendell H. Ford. Combs then resumed the practice of law with the old line Louisville firm of Bullitt, Dawson and Tarrant, which was renamed Tarrant, Combs & Bullitt. In the early 1980s, after Wyatt's retirement, Gordon Davidson, the managing partner of the Wyatt firm, and Combs engineered the merger of the two firms, forming Kentucky's largest law firm, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs.
Vice President Hubert Humphrey had Wyatt play an important role at the
1968 Democratic National Convention
The 1968 Democratic National Convention was held August 26–29 at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Earlier that year incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson had announced he would not seek reelection, thus maki ...
, again in Chicago. Wyatt, who twenty-four years earlier had soothed the hurt feelings of Alben Barkley, then devised a compromise over the party's platform plank in regard to the lingering
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...
.
For the remainder of his life, Wyatt was active in the legal community and with civic affairs in Kentucky. He and his wife, Anne, donated $500,000 to the
Jefferson County public schools to create scholarships for high school debaters, and another $500,000 to the law school at the University of Louisville, where he had once served as chairman of the trustees. The university in 1995 named its law school building after Wyatt. He served a term as chairman of the board of trustees at
Bellarmine University; a sizeable donation from the Wyatts funds a lecture series at the school.
Death
Wyatt died in 1996; he is interred in Section 33, Lot 13 of
Cave Hill Cemetery
Cave Hill Cemetery is a Victorian era National Cemetery and arboretum located at Louisville, Kentucky. Its main entrance is on Baxter Avenue and there is a secondary one on Grinstead Drive. It is the largest cemetery by area and number of buri ...
in Louisville.
References
Kentucky Historical SocietyThe American Presidency Project
Further reading
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wyatt, Wilson W.
1905 births
1996 deaths
American campaign managers
20th-century American lawyers
Lieutenant Governors of Kentucky
Mayors of Louisville, Kentucky
United States presidential advisors
University of Louisville alumni
University of Louisville School of Law alumni
Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery
Kentucky Democrats
Louisville Male High School alumni
20th-century American politicians