John C. Webb | |
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Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Falls Church and Fairfax, Virginia | |
In office January 13, 1954 – January 7, 1964 |
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Preceded by | Edwin W. Lynch |
Succeeded by | John L. Scott |
Personal details | |
Born | July 13, 1915 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
Died | March 24, 2000 Alexandria, Virginia, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Harriet Shelton Rhinehardt |
Alma mater | Washington College of Law |
John Cobourn Webb (July 13, 1915 – March 24, 2000) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who represented Falls Church and Fairfax, Virginia part-time in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1954 to 1966.
John Webb was born in Washington D.C. to Martin Taylor Webb (1885-1970) and his wife, the former Lilie M. Cobourn (1882-1960). He received an LLM degree from the Washington College of Law. Webb married Harriet Shelton Rhinehardt and had several children.
He served in the U.S. Army's 11th Airborne Division in the Pacific Theater in World War II, and was active in the Freemasons.
After admission to the Virginia bar, Webb practiced in Fairfax County, Virginia. He also served as President of the Fairfax Bar Association, as well as was Chairman of the Board of the Bank of Annandale. He was also President of the McDonald Corporation of Hampton, Virginia and the McDonald Corporation of Norfolk, Virginia.
In 1953, Webb and Omer L. Hirst were elected to represent Falls Church and Fairfax in northern Virginia in the Virginia General Assembly, a part-time position. They replaced Edwin W. Lynch, who was the only delegate elected to represent fast-growing Fairfax between 1946 and 1951. Webb was soon embroiled in the Massive Resistance crisis whereby the Byrd Organization following the lead of U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd refused to allow desegregation of Virginia's schools after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Brown v. Board of Education. Webb and fellow delegates Kathryn H. Stone of nearby Arlington and Republican Vernon S. Shaffer of Shenandoah became the only three delegates to oppose all seven anti-NAACP laws contained in the Stanley plan. Thus, Webb's was one of the few moderate voices during the special legislative session that ultimately adopted the Stanley plan, portions of which were declared unconstitutional by both the Virginia Supreme Court and a three judge federal panel on January 19, 1959.