Key Pittman
Pittmanc. 1920s
President pro tempore of the United States Senate
In office March 4, 1933 – November 10, 1940
Preceded by	George H. Moses
Succeeded by	William H. King
Chair of theSenate Foreign Relations Committee
In office March 4, 1933 – November 10, 1940
Preceded by	William Borah
Succeeded by	Walter F. George
Secretary of the Senate Democratic Caucus Acting
In office December 14, 1916 – March 3, 1917
Leader	John W. Kern
Preceded by	Willard Saulsbury Jr.
Succeeded by	William H. King
United States Senator fromNevada
In office January 29, 1913 – November 10, 1940
Preceded by	William A. Massey
Succeeded by	Berkeley L. Bunker
Personal details
Born	Key Denson Pittman (1872-09-12)September 12, 1872 Vicksburg, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	November 10, 1940(1940-11-10) (aged 68) Reno, Nevada, U.S.
Resting place	Masonic Memorial Gardens Reno, Nevada
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Mimosa Gates
Education	Southwestern Presbyterian University (nowRhodes College)

Key Denson Pittman (September 19, 1872 – November 10, 1940) was aUnited States senator fromNevada and a member of theDemocratic Party, serving eventually aspresident pro tempore as well as chairman of theForeign Relations Committee.

Pittman was born inVicksburg, Mississippi on September 12, 1872, a son of William Buckner Pittman and Katherine Key Pittman. His siblings included a younger brother,Vail M. Pittman, who served asGovernor of Nevada.^[1]

Key Pittman was educated by private tutors and at theSouthwestern Presbyterian University inClarksville, Tennessee. He studied law, then later was admitted to the bar. In 1897, Pittman joined in theKlondike Gold Rush and worked as a miner until 1901.

Pittman moved toTonopah, Nevada, in 1902 and continued the practice of law. He represented Nevada at theSt. Louis Exposition, theLewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, and theNational Irrigation Congress.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 20th century, Nevada was one of several states that hoped to institute the popular election of United States senators; theU.S. Constitution had provided for them to be elected by state legislatures. The states aiming to change this held popular elections as Senate terms expired, with the goal of forcing their legislatures to elect the people's choices. This was almost certainly unconstitutional, but the matter never reached theU.S. Supreme Court before the17th Amendment became part of the Constitution.^[2]

Nevada held a popular vote for the Senate in 1910, in which Pittman was the Democratic nominee; he lost toRepublican incumbentGeorge S. Nixon. After Nixon died on June 5, 1912, Pittman faced Republican interim appointee William A. Massey in a special election that November. Pittman won the election and, as happened in all of these questionable Senate elections held prior to the adoption of the 17th Amendment, the Nevada Legislature made the popular result official. The 17th Amendment was ratified in 1913 and Pittman won full terms in 1916, 1922, 1928, and 1934; he was re-elected again in 1940 but died shortly after the election.

Between 1933 and 1940, during thePresidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Pittman was the chairman of the powerfulCommittee on Foreign Relations, in which capacity (after much prompting by the President) he authored the Pittman Act that formed the basis of the Neutrality Act of November,1939, enabling allies to purchase war materiel from the United States on acash-and-carry basis.^[3] He was a member of the Committee on Territories and theCommittee on Industrial Expositions. In addition, during those years Pittman was alsoPresident pro tempore of the United States Senate.

Among his legislation is thePittman–Robertson Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937, which set up a formula for federal sharing of ammunition tax revenue for establishing state wildlife areas. The program is still in effect.^{[citation needed]} The Key Pittman Wildlife Management Area nearHiko, Nevada, which encompasses the Frenchy and Nesbitt lakes, is named in his honor.

It was falsely rumored for years that Pittman died before hisfinal election in 1940, and that Democratic party leaders kept the body at Tonopah'sMizpah Hotel in a bathtub full of ice until after he was reelected so GovernorEdward P. Carville, a fellow Democrat, could appoint a replacement. The truth was, former Nevada State Archivist Guy Rocha wrote, "just as disreputable." Pittman suffered a severeheart attack just before the election on November 5, and two doctors told his aides before the election that death was imminent. To avoid affecting the election, the party told the press that the senator was hospitalized for exhaustion and that his condition was not serious.^[4] Pittman died on November 10 at theWashoe General Hospital inReno, Nevada.^[5] He was buried at Masonic Memorial Gardens in Reno.

Several pieces of legislation bore his name, including thePittman Act of 1918, concerning silver coinage, and thePittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937.

The Pittman section of theAlaska Railroad, more commonly known today as the community ofMeadow Lakes west ofWasilla, was also named for him.^[6] Pittman Road runs north from its intersection with theGeorge Parks Highway at "downtown" Meadow Lakes.

A section of the city ofHenderson, Nevada is unofficially known as Pittman. There is also a natural wash that traverses a large section of Henderson named after the former senator. It is known as the Pittman Wash and has a walking/biking trail alongside it.

In 1941 Pittman's widow, the former Mimosa Gates, donated his papers to the Library of Congress. She withdrew them in 1942, but they were returned to the Library by the Gates family in 1954.^[7]

• List of members of the United States Congress who died in office (1900–1949)

• Cole, Wayne S. (March 1960). "Senator Key Pittman and American Neutrality Policies, 1933-1940".Mississippi Valley Historical Review.46 (4). Organization of American Historians:644–662.doi:10.2307/1886281.JSTOR 1886281.
• Glad, Betty (1986).Key Pittman: The Tragedy of a Senate Insider. New York: Columbia University Press.ISBN 0-231-06112-9.
• Israel, Fred L. (November 1961). "The Fulfillment of Bryan's Dream: Key Pittman and Silver Politics, 1918-1933".Pacific Historical Review.40 (4). University of California Press:359–380.doi:10.2307/3636423.JSTOR 3636423.
• Israel, Fred L. (1963).Nevada's Key Pittman. Lincoln, Nebr.: University of Nebraska Press.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toKey Pittman.

• TheKey Pittman papers, including afinding aid, at the Library of Congress
• United States Congress."Key Pittman (id: P000372)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Key Pittman atFind a Grave
• Newspaper clippings about Key Pittman in the20th Century Press Archives of theZBW

• 1872 births
• 1940 deaths
• Democratic Party United States senators from Nevada
• Nevada Democrats
• Nevada lawyers
• People from Tonopah, Nevada
• People of the Klondike Gold Rush
• Politicians from Vicksburg, Mississippi
• Presidents pro tempore of the United States Senate
• Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
• 20th-century United States senators

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