June 4, 1936

William B. Bankhead was elected speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. A member of one of Alabama’s most prominent political families, Bankhead was elected to Congress in 1916 and eventually became one of the South’s leading politicians. As speaker of the House, he oversaw the passage of the Fair Labor Standards Act, introduced by fellow Alabamian, U.S. Sen. Hugo Black, and endorsed President Roosevelt’s internationalist foreign policy. Bankhead initially sought the 1940 Democratic nomination for president, but ended his campaign when Roosevelt announced his candidacy for an unprecedented third term. Bankhead was inducted into the Alabama Lawyer’s Hall of Fame and the William B. Bankhead National Forest is named in his honor.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

William Brockman Bankhead (1874-1940) was one of the most influential politicians in Alabama’s history. He was the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1936-40 and throughout his career was a strong supporter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Depression-era and New Deal programs. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, Courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History)

William B. Bankhead served as the speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1936-40. He supported legislation championed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, including the Fair Labor Standards Act, which improved the lives of American workers. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, Courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History)

William Bankhead exiting automobile outside State, War and Navy building. (Harris & Ewing, photographer, Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

William B. Bankhead served as speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives during the late 1930s, overseeing passage of such New Deal legislation as the Fair Labor Standards Act. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, Courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.