Edgar E. Witt

Edgar E. Witt (born January 28, 1876 in Bell County , Texas , †  July 11, 1965 in Austin , Texas) was an American politician . Between 1931 and 1935 he was lieutenant governor of the state of Texas.

Career

Edgar Witt attended the public schools in Salado and then studied until 1903 at the University of Texas . After a subsequent law degree at the same university and his admission as a lawyer in 1905, he began to work in this profession. At the same time he embarked on a political career as a member of the Democratic Party . Between 1915 and 1917 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Texas ; from 1920 to 1930 he was a member of the State Senate . In 1918 he joined during the final stages of World War I in the United States Army one. As a captain he was stationed in Paris .

In 1930, Witt was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas at the side of Ross S. Sterling . He held this office between 1931 and 1935. He was Deputy Governor and Chairman of the State Senate. From 1933 he served under the returning Governor Miriam A. Ferguson . In 1934 he ran unsuccessfully in the gubernatorial election of his party. After his time as Lieutenant Governor, Witt initially practiced as a lawyer again. In 1935 he was appointed chairman of the Mexican Claims Commission by President Franklin D. Roosevelt . He held this office until 1938 and again from 1943 to 1947. In July 1940, he took part as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, on which President Roosevelt was nominated for the third time as a presidential candidate. He was later appointed head of the Indian Claims Commission by Roosevelt's successor Harry S. Truman . He held this office until he retired in June 1960. Edgar Witt died in Austin on July 11, 1965.

Web links

• Edgar E. Witt in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• The Political Graveyard
• Edgar E. Witt in the Handbook of Texas