J. Mark Wilcox
| James Mark Wilcox | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Florida's 4th district |
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In office 1933–1939 |
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| Preceded by | Ruth Bryan Owen |
| Succeeded by | Pat Cannon |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 21, 1890 Willacoochee, Georgia, United States |
| Died | February 3, 1956 (aged 65) White Springs, Florida, United States |
| Resting place | Woodlawn Park Cemetery, Miami, Florida, United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Alma mater | Mercer University |
James Mark Wilcox (May 21, 1890 – February 3, 1956) was a U.S. Representative from Florida.
Wilcox is remembered as the author of the Wilcox Municipal Bankruptcy Act, which became law in 1934, a bill which initially allowed a city in his district, West Palm Beach, to adjust its bonded indebtedness and avoid bankruptcy. It was later invoked to help New York City avoid bankruptcy in 1972.
James Mark Wilcox, commonly known by his middle name, was born May 21, 1890 in Willacoochee, Georgia, the second son of Dr. Jefferson Taylor Wilcox and his wife Marian Henson Wilcox. He attended public schools and Emory University. After graduation from Emory, he worked as a teacher before attending law school at Mercer University. He graduated from Mercer in 1910 and was admitted to the bar the same year; he commenced practice in Hazlehurst, Georgia.
Wilcox married the former Lyde Christine Helm (1892-1973) of Birmingham, Alabama on November 27, 1910. The couple would have two sons, James Mark Wilcox, Jr. (1915-1995) and Joel C. Wilcox, Sr. (1918-2009).
Wilcox served as the solicitor of Jeff Davis County, Georgia from 1911 until 1918. The following year he moved to Brunswick, Georgia, then in 1925 to West Palm Beach, Florida, where he continued to practice law. He served as city attorney of West Palm Beach from 1928 until 1933 and as a member of the taxation committee of President Herbert Hoover's Conference on Home Ownership in 1931.
Wilcox was elected to Congress in 1932, defeating two term Congressional representative Ruth Bryan Owen in the June Democratic primary. Wilcox was elected to the Seventy-third, Seventy-fourth, and Seventy-fifth Congresses and served from March 4, 1933 to January 3, 1939.
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