Loading AI tools
American politician and judge From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Barton Payne (January 26, 1855 – January 24, 1935) was an American politician, lawyer and judge. He served as the United States Secretary of the Interior from 1920 until 1921 under Woodrow Wilson's administration.
John Payne | |
|---|---|
| |
| 27th United States Secretary of the Interior | |
| In office March 15, 1920 – March 4, 1921 | |
| President | Woodrow Wilson |
| Preceded by | Franklin Lane |
| Succeeded by | Albert B. Fall |
| President of the United States Shipping Board | |
| In office 1919 – February 1920 | |
| President of the Chicago South Park Board | |
| In office 1911–1924 | |
| Judge on the Superior Court of Cook County | |
| In office 1893–1898 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 26, 1855 Pruntytown, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | January 24, 1935 (aged 79) Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Resting place | Oak Hill Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Kate Bunker |
| Signature |  |
Payne was born on January 26, 1855, in Pruntytown, Virginia, the son of Amos Payne, who was a medical doctor and farmer, and the former Elizabeth Barton.[1]
Admitted to the bar in 1876 in West Virginia, Payne entered politics five years later as the chairman of the Preston County Democratic Party. He moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1883,[citation needed] and was elected in 1893 to the Superior Court of Cook County, which he served on until resigning from that post in 1898.[2] Payne notably oversaw the Patrick Eugene Prendergast's unsuccessful appeal to his conviction for assassinating Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison Sr.[3]
After resigning his judgeship, Payne was the senior partner in Winston, Payne, Strawn and Shaw. A successor firm, Winston & Strawn, still exists. He was the president of the Chicago's South Park Board from 1911 to 1924.
In 1913 he declined an offer from president Woodrow Wilson to serve as solicitor general of the United States.[5]
After the outbreak of World War I, Payne went to Washington, D.C., to act as the counsel for the Emergency Fleet Corporation and was the general counsel of the United States Railroad Administration Feb. 1918-Aug. 1919.[6] From 1919 through his appointment to Wilson's cabinet in February 1920, Payne served as the Chairman of the U.S. Shipping Board.
From October 1921 until his death, Payne served as the Chairman of the American Red Cross. In May 1921, Payne pledged funds for the permanent structure for the Warrenton Library[7] in Fauquier County, Virginia.
Payne was a founder of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond in 1911, and he donated 50 paintings to the museum in 1919.[8] Some of his personal papers were given to the Special Collections Research Center at the College of William & Mary.[9]
Payne married Kate Bunker on October 17, 1878. She died after a long illness. Payne married his second wife, the former Jennie Byrd Bryan (daughter of the late Thomas Barbour Bryan), on May 1, 1913. Jennie Payne died in 1919, and he remained a widower in office.
He died of pneumonia after an operation for appendicitis on January 24, 1935, at the age of 79. Two days later, an Associated Press obituary ran in the Chicago Tribune.[citation needed] Payne was buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Washington, D.C., next to his second wife.[10]
In World War II, the United States liberty ship SS John Barton Payne was named in his honor.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.
