Background
Pittman was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1872.
lawyer politician United States senator
Pittman was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1872.
He studied law, then later became a lawyer
He was a Democrat. Early years
He had a younger brother Vail, who would later serve as Governor of Nevada. In 1897, Pittman joined in the Klondike Gold Rush and worked as a miner until 1901. Pittman moved to Tonopah, Nevada, in 1902 and continued the practice of law.
He represented Nevada at the Saint Louis Exposition, the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition, and the National Irrigation Congress.
Political career
In 1910, he made an unsuccessful run for the Senate. Later, he was elected as a Democrat to the Senate in 1913 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George South. Nixon, and served until his death in 1940.
In addition, during those years Pittman was also President pro tempore of the United States Senate. Among his legislation is the Pittman–Robertson Wildlife Restoration Acting of 1937 which set up a formula for federal sharing of ammunition tax revenue for establishing state wildlife areas.
The program is still in effect.
The Key Pittman Wildlife Management Area near Hiko, Nevada, which encompasses the Frenchy and Nesbitt Lakes, is named in his honor. Death and legacy
lieutenant was rumored for years that Pittman died before his final election in 1940, and that Democratic party leaders kept the body in Reno"s Riverside Hotel bathtub full of ice until he was reelected so Governor Edward Carville, a fellow Democrat, could appoint a replacement. While the rumor was false the truth was, as former Nevada State Archivist Guy Rocha wrote, "just as disreputable".
Pittman suffered a severe heart attack just before the election on 5 November, and two doctors told his aides before the election that death was imminent.
To avoid affecting the election, the party told the press that the senator was hospitalized for exhaustion and that his condition was not serious. Pittman died on 10 November at the Washoe General Hospital in Reno, Nevada.
Several pieces of legislation bore his name, including the Pittman Acting of 1918 and the Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Acting of 1937. The Pittman section of the Alaska Railroad, more commonly known today as the community of Meadow Lakes west of Wasilla, was also named for him.
Pittman Road runs north from its intersection with the George Parks Highway at "downtown" Meadow Lakes.
Between 1933 and 1940, during the Presidency of Franklin Doctorate. Roosevelt, Pittman was the chairman of the powerful Committee on Foreign Relations and a member of the Committee on Territories and the Committee on Industrial Expositions.