John Conover Nichols (August 31, 1896 – November 7, 1945) was an American lawyer,

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

veteran, and politician who served four terms as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

from 1935 to 1943.

Biography

Born in

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...

, Nichols was the son of John Adams and Mary Catherine Conover Nichols. He attended the public schools in

, and

Colorado Springs, Colorado Colorado Springs is the most populous city in El Paso County, Colorado, United States, and its county seat. The city had a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, a 15.02% increase since 2010 United States Census, 2 ...

, and the

teachers college Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) is the graduate school of education affiliated with Columbia University, a private research university in New York City. Founded in 1887, Teachers College has been a part of Columbia University since ...

Emporia, Kansas Emporia is a city in and the county seat of Lyon County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 24,139. Emporia lies between Topeka, Kansas, Topeka and Wichita, Kansas, Wichita ...

. He married Marion Young in Tulsa on March 30, 1921. She was the daughter of William Buford and Nina Young of Eufaula. The Nichols had a daughter, Nina Jean, and a son, Dan. He studied law in the office of his brother in

Eufaula, Oklahoma Eufaula is a city in and the county seat of McIntosh County, Oklahoma, McIntosh County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,813 at the 2010 census, an increase of 6.6 percent from 2,639 in 2000. Eufaula is in the southern part of the co ...

; and was admitted to the

bar association A bar association is a professional association of lawyers as generally organized in countries following the Anglo-American types of jurisprudence.

in 1926 and commenced

practice Practice or practise may refer to: Education and learning * Practice (learning method), a method of learning by repetition * Phantom practice, phenomenon in which a person's abilities continue to improve, even without practicing * Practice-based ...

Career

During

Nichols served in the 19th Infantry,

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from 1917 to 1919. Nichols 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 (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

to the

74th Congress The 74th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from January 3, 193 ...

and to the four succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1935, until his resignation on July 3, 1943, to become vice president of Transcontinental & Western Airlines. While in office, he served on the Rivers and Harbors, Merchant Marine and Fisheries, Territories Committees. In 1935 and 1937 he was also a member of a special committee that went to Hawaii to hold hearings on statehood. His legislative interests focused on American Indians, soil conservation, old-age pensions, Civilian Conservation Corp (CCC) camps, and aviation.

Death

Still vice president of Transcontinental & Western Airlines, Nichols died in an airplane crash at

Asmara Asmara ( ), or Asmera (), is the capital and most populous city of Eritrea, in the country's Central Region (Eritrea), Central Region. It sits at an elevation of , making it the List of capital cities by altitude, sixth highest capital in the wo ...

Eritrea Eritrea, officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa, with its capital and largest city being Asmara. It is bordered by Ethiopia in the Eritrea–Ethiopia border, south, Sudan in the west, and Dj ...

(then under a British Military Administration), on November 7, 1945. He was originally

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 object ...

in the United States military cemetery at Asmara, Eritrea, but his body was later moved and reinterred at Greenwood Cemetery in

References

External links

Retrieved on 2009-02-22
John C. Nichols Collection
at the

Carl Albert Center The Carl Albert Congressional Research and Studies Center is a nonpartisan institution devoted to teaching and research related to the United States Congress and, more broadly, to strengthening representative democracy through engaged and informe ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, John Conover 1896 births 1945 deaths Politicians from Joplin, Missouri People from Eufaula, Oklahoma Emporia State University alumni Oklahoma lawyers United States Army soldiers United States Army personnel of World War I Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Eritrea Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Oklahoma 20th-century American lawyers Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1945 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives