Elmer Thomas
| Elmer Thomas | |
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United States Senator from Oklahoma |
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In office March 4, 1927 – January 3, 1951 |
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| Preceded by | John W. Harreld |
| Succeeded by | A. S. Mike Monroney |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Oklahoma's 6th district |
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In office March 4, 1923 – March 3, 1927 |
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| Preceded by | L.M. Gensman |
| Succeeded by | Jed Johnson |
| Member of the Oklahoma Senate | |
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In office 1907–1920 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
John William Elmer Thomas September 8, 1876 Greencastle, Indiana |
| Died | September 19, 1965 (aged 89) Lawton, Oklahoma |
| Resting place | Highland Cemetery 34°37′56″N 98°24′1″W / 34.63222°N 98.40028°W |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Edith Smith |
| Alma mater |
Central Normal College DePauw University |
| Profession | Lawyer |
John William Elmer Thomas (September 8, 1876 – September 19, 1965) was a native of Indiana who moved to Oklahoma Territory in 1901, where he practiced law in Lawton. After statehood, he was elected to the first state senate, representing the Lawton area. Representative and a Senator from Oklahoma. In 1922, he ran successfully on the Democratic Party ticket for the U.S. House of Representatives. He was the Democratic nominee for the U.S. Senate in 1926; he won this race and held the seat until 1950, when he lost the party nomination to A.S. (Mike) Monroney. Thomas returned to a private law practice in Washington, D.C., and in 1957 moved his practice back to Lawton, where he died in 1965.
Born on a farm in Putnam County, Indiana, near Greencastle, to William and Elizabeth Thomas on September 8, 1876, he attended the common schools; graduated from the Central Normal College (now Canterbury College), Danville, Indiana, in 1897 and from the graduate department of DePauw University, Greencastle, Indiana, in 1900. Thomas studied law, was admitted to the Indiana bar in 1897 and to the Oklahoma bar in 1900, and commenced practice in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; moved to Lawton, Oklahoma, in 1901 and continued the practice of law.
He was elected a member of the first state senate in 1907, where he served until 1920. He also served as president pro tempore 1910–1913, founded the Medicine Park Resort and oversaw the state's first fish hatchery at Medicine Park, Oklahoma. He was an unsuccessful candidate for election in 1920 to the Sixty-seventh Congress. In 1922, he ran again and won, elected as a Democrat to the Sixty-eighth and Sixty-ninth Congresses (March 4, 1923–March 3, 1927). As a member of the Oklahoma delegation to the House of Representatives, he supported Indian education legislation, the McNary-Haugen Farm Bill and legislation expanding credit for farmers. He also served on the House Committee on Public Lands and Claims
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