Wright, Jim, 1922-2015

<p>Jim Wright was born in Fort Worth in 1922 and spent his childhood in Texas and Oklahoma before attending Weatherford College and the University of Texas. Wright enlisted in the Army Air Corps during World War II and received his flyer’s wings and an officer’s commission at the age of nineteen. He flew combat missions in the South Pacific and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Legion of Merit.</p>

<p>Wright began his political career after the war. He joined the Young Democrats of Texas and, in 1946, was elected to the State Legislature. While a member of the State Legislature, he supported lowering the voting age to eighteen, allowing women to serve on juries, and other similar issues that challenged the status quo. In 1950, he became the mayor of Weatherford, Texas, a position he held until 1954, when voters from the Twelfth Congressional District elected him to the U.S. House of Representatives.</p>

<p>Wright was a member of Congress for thirty-four years, from 1955 to 1989, a tenure that spanned eight presidents. During that time, he authored major legislation in the fields of foreign affairs, economic development, water conservation, and energy. The Interstate Highway System, Clean Water Program, and flood control are a few examples of the programs and issues he helped to advance while in office. Over time, he rose in stature within the Democratic Party. He was the House Majority Leader from 1976 to 1986 and Speaker of the House from 1987 to 1989. As Speaker, Wright presided over the 100th Congress, one of the most productive in terms of legislation passed in the House’s history. Speaker Wright’s efforts included working to reduce the national deficit and finding a way to bring peace to Central America.</p>

<p>Wright has authored numerous books and articles and he currently writes columns and book reviews for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He taught a course in Political Science at TCU each fall entitled “Topics in American Politics: Congress and the Presidents.” from 1991 until 2010. He received the Golden Deeds Award from the National Exchange Club in 2014. He died on May 6, 2015.</p>

<p>James Claude Wright Jr. (December 22, 1922 – May 6, 2015) was an American politician who served as the 48th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1987 to 1989. He represented Texas's 12th congressional district as a Democrat from 1955 to 1989.</p>

<p>Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Wright won election to the Texas House of Representatives after serving in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He won election to Congress in 1954, representing a district that included his home town of Fort Worth. Wright distinguished himself from many of his fellow Southern Congressmen in his refusal to sign the Southern Manifesto. He voted for the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Acts of 1960 and 1968, although he voted against the Civil Rights Acts of 1957 and 1964. He also became a senior member of the House Public Works Committee.</p>

<p>In 1976, Wright narrowly won election to the position of House Majority Leader. He became Speaker of the House after Tip O'Neill retired in 1987. Wright resigned from Congress in June 1989 amid a House Ethics Committee investigation into compensation that he and his wife had received. After leaving Congress, Wright became a professor at Texas Christian University. He died in Fort Worth in 2015. </p>

<p>WRIGHT, JAMES CLAUDE, JR., a Representative from Texas; born in Fort Worth, Tarrant County, Tex., December 22, 1922; graduated from Adamson High School, Dallas, Tex., 1939; student at Weatherford College, Weatherford, Tex., 1939-1940, and the University of Texas, Austin, Tex., 1940-1941; enlisted in the United States Army Air Force in December 1941; commissioned in 1942 and flew combat missions in the South Pacific; was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross; partner in a national trade extension and advertising firm; member of the Texas state house of representatives, 1947-1949; mayor of Weatherford, Tex., 1950-1954; served as president, League of Texas Municipalities, 1953; delegate, Democratic National Convention, 1956, 1960, 1964, and 1968, and Democratic National Convention chairman in 1988; elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-fourth and to the seventeen succeeding Congresses and served from January 3, 1955, until his resignation on June 30, 1989; majority leader (Ninety-fifth through Ninety-ninth Congresses), Speaker of the House of Representatives (One Hundredth and One Hundred First Congresses); died on May 6, 2015, in Fort Worth, Tex.</p>