Malcolm R. Patterson

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Malcolm Rice Patterson (June 7, 1861 – March 8, 1935) was an American politician and judge. He served as the 30th governor of Tennessee from 1907 to 1911 and earlier as a U.S. Representative from Tennessee’s 10th district (1901–1906). He later worked as a circuit court judge in Memphis (1923–1934) and wrote a weekly column (1921–1933).

Early life
Born as Hamilton Rice Patterson in Somerville, Alabama, his family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, in 1872. In 1866 his name was changed to Malcolm. He attended Christian Brothers College and studied at Vanderbilt University, then read law with his father. He became a lawyer in 1883.

Political beginnings
Patterson was Shelby County Attorney General from 1894 to 1900. He then served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1901 to 1906.

Governor of Tennessee
Patterson was elected governor in 1906 and served from 1907 to 1911. His term saw several reforms:
- Created the State Highway Commission.
- Enacted food and drug regulations and banned gambling on horse races.
- Became the first Tennessee governor to live in a state governor’s mansion.

In 1909 he helped pass the General Education Act, which created four colleges: East Tennessee State University, Middle Tennessee State University, the University of Memphis, and Tennessee State University.

Controversies and campaigns
Patterson’s time in office included a crackdown on the Night Riders at Reelfoot Lake in 1908, which increased his popularity. He faced a scandal when his adviser, Duncan Cooper, was involved in a murder related to political rival Edward Carmack. Patterson pardoned Cooper in 1910, which drew widespread anger and accusations of abuse of the pardon power.

Prohibition and party split
Two Prohibition laws passed in 1909 were vetoed by Patterson, but the legislature overrode his veto. In 1910 a split in the Democratic Party over how delegates should be chosen led to a major division. Patterson’s faction, the Regular Democrats, clashed with the Statewiders. The Statewiders ran their own slate, and Patterson withdrew from the race. Republican Ben W. Hooper won the governorship, the first Republican to do so in Tennessee in many years.

Later life
In 1913 Patterson joined the temperance movement and supported Prohibition. He ran for the U.S. Senate in 1915 but lost to Kenneth McKellar. In 1921 he began writing a political column for the Memphis press. In 1923 Governor Austin Peay appointed him as a judge in Shelby County’s First Circuit Court, a position he held until 1934. He tried to run for governor again in 1932 but was defeated.

Personal life and death
Patterson was married three times. His first wife, Sarah Johnson, died in 1906; they had three children. He then married Sybil Hodges in 1903 (one child) who died in 1906, and later Mary Russell Gardner in 1907 (two children). His niece, Virginia Foster Durr, became a notable civil rights activist. Malcolm R. Patterson died on March 8, 1935, in Sarasota, Florida, and is buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Memphis.