John M. Patterson
| John Malcolm Patterson | |
|---|---|
| 44th Governor of Alabama | |
|
In office January 19, 1959 – January 14, 1963 |
|
| Lieutenant | Albert Boutwell |
| Preceded by | Jim Folsom |
| Succeeded by | George Wallace |
| Attorney General of Alabama | |
|
In office January 17, 1955 – January 19, 1959 |
|
| Governor | Jim Folsom |
| Preceded by | Bernard Sykes |
| Succeeded by | MacDonald Gallion |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
September 27, 1921 Goldville, Alabama, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Tina Sawyer |
| Alma mater | University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Years of service | 1939–1945 1951–1953 |
| Rank |
 Major
|
| Battles/wars |
World War II Korean War |
John Malcolm Patterson (born September 27, 1921) is a retired American politician who was the 44th Governor of the U.S. state of Alabama, having served a single term from 1959 to 1963. Previously, from 1955 to 1959, he was his state's attorney general.
In 2003, Patterson was the presiding judge over former Chief Justice Roy Moore's appeal against his removal from the Alabama Supreme Court.
Patterson ran with the support of the Ku Klux Klan when he won the Governorship of Alabama in 1958.
Patterson was born in Goldville in Tallapoosa County in east central Alabama. His father was attorney Albert Patterson. He joined the United States Army in 1939 and served in the North African, Sicilian, Italian, Southern France, and German campaigns of World War II. In 1945, he left the Army as a major, and obtained an LL.B. degree from the University of Alabama School of Law at Tuscaloosa. He was recalled to active duty in the Army from 1951 to 1953 in the Korean War. After his military service, he joined his father's law practice.
In 1954, Patterson's father ran for state attorney general in the state's Democratic primary on a platform promising to eliminate crime in the mob-controlled town of Phenix City, where he lived, and also across the state. In those days, Alabama was a de facto one-party state dominated by the Democrats, and the Democratic nominee was all but assured of election. Albert Patterson was shot to death in Phenix City less than two weeks after winning the Democratic nomination on June 18, 1954. John Patterson replaced his father on the ballot, and as expected won the general election handily. The 1955 film The Phenix City Story was based on these events, and actor Richard Kiley portrayed Patterson in that film.
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