Wright Patman
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John William Wright Patman (August 6, 1893-March 7, 1976) was a U.S. Congressman from Texas and chair of the House Banking Committee.
Patman was born in Cass County, Texas. During World War I, Patman served as a private and a machine gun officer.
Patman was elected to the Texas House of Representatives in 1920. He left the House in 1924 when he was appointed district attorney of the fifth judicial district of Texas.
In 1928, Patman was elected to the House of Representatives in Texas District 1. In 1932, Patman introduced a bill that would have mandated the immediate payment of the bonus to World War I veterans. It was during the consideration of this bill that the Bonus Army came to Washington. Patman was a supporter of the New Deal. He also opposed the Federal Reserve System.
In 1975, Patman was voted out of his position as Chairman of the Banking committee by younger Congressmen, in a revolt against the 'Seniority system' which also removed Felix Edward Hébert and William R. Poage from their positions as chairmen. Patman was replaced by Henry S. Reuss by a caucus vote of 152-117. The main reason given for the caucus removing Patman was due to concerns about his age and effectiveness. Soon afterwards, Patman died at the age of 82 in Bethesda, Maryland.
| Preceded by: Eugene Black | U.S. Representative from the 1st District of Texas 1928—1976 | Succeeded by: Sam B. Hall External references
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