John Ridley Mitchell (September 26, 1877 – February 26, 1962) was an American politician and a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Biography

Born in

Livingston, Tennessee Livingston is a town in Overton County, Tennessee, United States, and serves as the county seat. The population was 3,905 at the 2020 census and 4,058 at the 2010 census. The current mayor, Curtis Hayes, began serving his mayoral position in Sept ...

, Mitchell was the son of Isiah Winburn and Sophrona Winton Mitchell. attended the public schools. He was graduated from Peabody College of Teachers,

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, in 1896. He served as Private secretary to Representative C.E. Snodgrass from 1899 to 1903, and graduated from

Cumberland School of Law Cumberland School of Law is an American Bar Association, ABA accredited law school at Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. It was founded in 1847 at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee and is the 11th oldest law schoo ...

Cumberland University Cumberland University is a private university in Lebanon, Tennessee. It was founded in 1842. The campus's current historic buildings were constructed between 1892 and 1896. History 1842-1861 The university was founded by the Cumberlan ...

, Lebanon, Tennessee, in 1904. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

the same year and commenced practice in

Crossville, Tennessee Crossville is a city in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Tennessee, United States. It is part of the Crossville, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 12,071 at the 2020 census. History Crossville developed at the inters ...

Career

A member of the State Democratic executive committee from 1910 to 1914, Mitchell also served as assistant attorney general of the fifth circuit of Tennessee from 1908 to 1918. He became attorney general of the same circuit from 1918 to 1925. He served as judge of the fifth circuit from 1925 until 1931, when he moved to

Cookeville, Tennessee Cookeville is the county seat and largest city of Putnam County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was reported to be 34,842. It is recognized as one of the country's micropolitan areas, or smaller ...

. Mitchell was elected as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the Seventy-second and to the three succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1931 – January 3, 1939). He was not a candidate for renomination in 1938, but was unsuccessful for the Democratic nomination for

United States Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

and resumed the practice of law. In 1942, Mitchell was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for governor of Tennessee. Mitchell faced incumbent Prentice Cooper and ran a surprisingly strong campaign. He was an attorney in the office of Alien Property Custodian from January 1943 to September 1945. He served as special assistant to Attorney General in the Antitrust Division, at the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

, Washington, D.C., from 1945 to 1951.

Death

Mitchell died in Crossville, Cumberland County, Tennessee, on February 26, 1962 (age 84 years, 153 days). He is

interred Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

at Green Acres Memorial Gardens, Crossville, Tennessee.

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, John Ridley 1877 births 1962 deaths People from Livingston, Tennessee Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee People from Crossville, Tennessee