Robert Ewing Thomason known as R. Ewing Thomason (May 30, 1879 – November 8, 1973) was a

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

politician, a member and Speaker of the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abo ...

, the mayor of El Paso, a Democratic member of the

United States House of Representatives 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 ...

, and a

United States district judge The United States district courts are the trial courts of the U.S. federal judiciary. There is one district court for each federal judicial district, which each cover one U.S. state or, in some cases, a portion of a state. Each district cou ...

of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas.

Early life and education

Born in Shelbyville, Bedford County,

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 ...

, Thomason moved to Gainesville,

, with his parents in 1880. He attended public schools, and received a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

degree from

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a private liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwestern is the oldest college or university in Texas. Southwestern o ...

in Georgetown, Texas, in 1898. Thomason received a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

from the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the law school of the University of Texas at Austin. Texas Law is consistently ranked as one of the top law schools in the United States and is highly selective—registering the 8th lowest ac ...

in 1900 and 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 ...

in 1901, commencing practice in Gainesville. Thomason was the prosecuting attorney of Cooke County, Texas, from 1902 to 1906.

Professional career

Thomason continued to practice law upon his moving to

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

, in a law firm with Thomas Calloway Lea, Jr., and later J. G. McGrady and Eugene T. Edwards. He was a member of the

from 1917 to 1921, serving as Speaker in 1920 and 1921. Thomason served as the

Mayor of El Paso The following is a list of people who have served as mayors of the city of El Paso in the U.S state of Texas. List of Mayors of El Paso References {{Reflist, 33em El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, ...

from 1927 to 1930, and was elected to the 72nd United States Congress 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 ...

in 1930. Thomason served from March 4, 1931 until his resignation on July 31, 1947, to take a seat on the federal bench.

Federal judicial service

Thomason was nominated by President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. A leader of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 34th vice president from January to April 1945 under Franklin ...

on April 24, 1947, to a seat on the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas vacated by Judge

Charles Albert Boynton Charles Albert Boynton (November 26, 1867 – October 12, 1954) was a United States district judge of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas, serving for 30 years from 1924 to 1954. Education and career Born in Queb ...

. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate 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 pow ...

on June 3, 1947, and received his commission on June 5, 1947. He assumed

senior status Senior status is a form of semi- retirement for United States federal judges. To qualify, a judge in the federal court system must be at least 65 years old, and the sum of the judge's age and years of service as a federal judge must be at leas ...

on June 1, 1963. He served in senior status in El Paso until his death there on November 8, 1973. He was interred in Restlawn Cemetery in El Paso.

Honor

El Paso County Hospital District's University Medical Center, was named in his honor from 1963 until 2009. In 2016 the United States courthouse in El Paso was renamed in his honor.

Fraternity

Robert E. Thomason was a freemason and belonged to El Paso Lodge # 130 A.F. & A.M. He also belonged to El Maida Shrine and served as Illustrious Potentate.

References

Sources

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External links

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R. E. Thomason Shaped City, State, Nation
- El Paso Community College Borderlands project

- Political Graveyard {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomason, R. Ewing 1879 births 1973 deaths People from Shelbyville, Tennessee Judges of the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas United States district court judges appointed by Harry S. Truman 20th-century American judges Mayors of El Paso, Texas Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives Texas lawyers Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Texas