Kenneth McKellar (politician)
Kenneth Douglas McKellar (January 29, 1869 – October 25, 1957) was an American politician from Tennessee who served as a United States Representative from 1911 until 1917 and as a United States Senator from 1917 until 1953. A Democrat, he served longer in both houses of Congress than anyone else in Tennessee history.
This article is about the United States politician. For the Scottish singer, see Kenneth McKellar (singer).
Kenneth McKellar
October 25, 1957 (aged 88)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Only a few other congressmen in American history have served longer in both houses.
Early life and career[edit]
McKellar was a native of Dallas County, Alabama. He graduated from the University of Alabama in 1891 and its law school in 1892.
He moved to Memphis, Tennessee and is related to Henry Nickey, an MUS Basketball star, and was admitted to the state bar the same year. McKellar joined the Democratic Party, which dominated the politics of West Tennessee, where plantations were historically and economically important. He was first elected to the House in a special election in November 1911 to succeed George W. Gordon in Tennessee's 10th congressional district, which included Memphis. He won the seat in his own right in 1912 and was reelected in 1914, serving until his election to the United States Senate.
He was a presidential elector in 1904.[1]
Legacy[edit]
McKellar wrote a book about his Tennessee predecessors in the Senate called Tennessee Senators as Seen by One of Their Successors (1942). In recent years it has been updated by one of his successors, former Senate Majority Leader Dr. Bill Frist.
Lake McKellar, bordering the Memphis President's Island industrial area along the Mississippi River and McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (originally "McKellar Field") in Jackson, Tennessee ("MKL") are both named in his honor.
McKellar died on October 25, 1957. He is interred at Elmwood Cemetery in Memphis, Tennessee.[6]
Representation in other media[edit]
Some have speculated that Senator McKellar was the inspiration for the character South Carolina Senator Seabright Cooley in Allen Drury's novel Advise and Consent.[7]
McKellar was portrayed by actor/country singer Ed Bruce in the film Public Enemies (2009) and Michael O'Neill in the film J. Edgar (2011).