Oscar Goodbar Johnston (January 27, 1880 - October 3, 1955) was an American politician and public officer from the state of Mississippi.
Oscar G. Johnston | |
|---|---|
 c. 1917 | |
| Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from the Coahoma County district | |
| In office January 1908 – January 1920 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 27, 1880 Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | October 3, 1955 (aged 75) Greenville, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Democrat |
| Spouse | Martha Anderson (m. 1905) |
Early life
editOscar Goodbar Johnston was born on January 27, 1880, in Jackson, Mississippi.[1][2][3][4][5] He was the son of John Calvin Johnston and Emma Elizabeth (Goodbar) Johnston.[1][2][3][4] John Calvin Johnston was the deputy state auditor of Mississippi for several years.[1][2][3] When Oscar was in his youth, Oscar attended public and private schools in Jackson, Kansas City, and Memphis.[1][2][3] He graduated from the Kentucky Military Institute in 1899 as the salutatorian of his class.[1][2][3] He then studied law, going to the University of Mississippi for one term, before switching colleges and graduating from Cumberland University with a law degree and as the class orator in 1901.[1][2][3][4] He first practiced law at West Point, Mississippi, in 1901.[5]
Political career
editState Legislature
editJohnston was first elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives, representing Coahoma County as a Democrat, on November 5, 1907.[1][2] In the 1908 and 1910 sessions, he served on the Judiciary, Federal Relations, Corporations, and Mississippi Levees committees.[1] He was re-elected on November 7, 1911, for the 1912 and 1914 sessions.[1][3] During those sessions, he was the chairman of the Judiciary committee, and also was served in the Fees and Salaries, Mississippi Levees, Constitution, Drainage, and Rules committees.[3] He was re-elected once more in November 1915, where he served on the Judiciary, Mississippi Levees, Railroads, and Insurance Committees.[1] In the 1916 session, he attempted to run for Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives, but lost in a three-way race to Martin Sennett Conner.[6] He left the Legislature to serve in the Tank Corps as a private in World War I, and was commissioned a lieutenant in 1919.[4][5]
Run for Governor
editFollowing service in WWI, Johnston attempted to run for Mississippi Governor in 1919.[4][7] However, he lost the second primary to Lee M. Russell.[4][7]
Organizations
editHe became the president of the Delta & Pine Land Company of Mississippi in 1929.[4] In 1933, he was appointed the Director of Finance for the newly created Agricultural Adjustment Administration (AAA).[4] In 1938, he founded the National Cotton Council, and served as president of that organization until his retirement.[5]
Personal life and death
editIn 1905, he married Martha Anderson.[1][2][3] He died on October 3, 1955, in Greenville, Mississippi.[4][5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Mississippi Department of Archives and History (1917). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History. pp. 847–848.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Mississippi Department of Archives and History (1908). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History. p. 1045.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Mississippi Department of Archives and History (1912). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History. pp. 414–415.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Johnston, Oscar Goodbar". Mississippi Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2021-03-21.
- ^ a b c d e Congress, United States. Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. A257–A258.
- ^ Nelson, Lawrence J. (1999). King Cotton's Advocate: Oscar G. Johnston and the New Deal. Univ. of Tennessee Press. ISBN 978-1-57233-025-2.
- ^ a b Mississippi Department of Archives and History (1923). The Official and Statistical Register of the State of Mississippi. Department of Archives and History.