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

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

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. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

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

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, 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 Artic ...

, 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. Each district covers one U.S. state or a portion of a state. There is at least one feder ...

of the

United States District Court for the Western District of Texas The United States District Court for the Western District of Texas (in case citations, W.D. Tex.) is a federal district court. The court convenes in San Antonio with divisions in Austin, Del Rio, El Paso, Midland, Pecos, and Waco. It has ...

Early life and education

Born in Shelbyville, Bedford County,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, 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, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...

degree from

Southwestern University Southwestern University (Southwestern or SU) is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Georgetown, Texas. Formed in 1873 from a revival of collegiate charters granted in 1840, Southwester ...

in Georgetown, Texas, in 1898. Thomason received a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

from the

University of Texas School of Law The University of Texas School of Law (Texas Law) is the Law school in the United States, law school of the University of Texas at Austin, a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas. According to Texas Law’s American Bar ...

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 (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

, 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 In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

from 1927 to 1930, and was elected to the

72nd United States Congress The 72nd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1931 ...

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 ...

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. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

on April 24, 1947, to a seat on the

vacated by Judge Charles Albert Boynton. He was confirmed by the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

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

* *

External links

*
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 mayors of places in Texas 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 20th-century members of the Texas Legislature 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives