Bascom Nolley Timmons | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 31, 1890 Amarillo, Texas, US |
| Died | June 8, 1987 (aged 97) Washington, D.C., US |
| Occupations | Journalist Advisor toCalvin Coolidge andFranklin D. Roosevelt |
Bascom Nolley Timmons (March 31, 1890 – June 8, 1987) was an Americannewspaperman based inWashington, D.C., in a career that spanned close to six decades. He was an advisor toU.S. PresidentsCalvin Coolidge andFranklin D. Roosevelt, who had been competing opposite party candidates forVice President of the United States in1920.
Oddly, like the lateGovernorClaude R. Kirk Jr., ofFlorida, Timmons himself once sought to run for vice president, but the position is now selected by the presidential nominee of a political party. Timmons offered his candidacy in 1940, when his friendJohn Nance Garner declined to join President Roosevelt in seeking a third term as vice president. The nomination finally went toHenry A. Wallace ofIowa. In 1968, theRepublican Kirk "ran" with the understanding that he would complement a ticket headed by eitherRichard M. Nixon orNelson A. Rockefeller. Nixon, the successful nominee, however, tappedGovernorSpiro T. Agnew ofMaryland, for the second slot on theticket.[1][2]
A native ofAmarillo,Texas, Timmons began his career in journalism at the age of sixteen with the formerFort Worth Record inFort Worth, Texas. He later worked for the defunctDallas Times-Herald, theAmarillo News, and theMilwaukee Sentinel. In 1912, he joinedThe Washington Post''. In 1920, Timmons created a bureau in the nation's capital, to serve newspapers in Texas,Oklahoma,Louisiana,Alabama, andOhio. In 1932, Timmons became president of theNational Press Club; in that capacity, he worked thereafter to save the press club building inNew York City from foreclosure. He persuaded President Franklin Roosevelt to sign an amendment to the federalbankruptcy law that blocked the foreclosure and hence kept the building open. He was a member of theSigma Delta Chi hall of fame.[3]
In 1944, Timmons hiredSarah McClendon as the Washington correspondent for thePhiladelphia Daily News. Two years later when Timmons dismissed McClendon to provide jobs for returningWorld War II veterans, she started her own McClendon News Service and remained a Washington institution for decades.[4]
Timmons was widely respected and liked in Washington, D.C., but his reporting long infuriatedLyndon B. Johnson. Timmons' press bureau served a number of newspapers. His biggest customer, theFort Worth Star-Telegram, listed him as its chief correspondent. Shortly after Johnson becamePresident, he surreptitiously pressured the Amon G. Carter Jr., the Star-Telegram's owner, to drop Timmons. The paper gradually phased him out; Timmons seemed unaware of Johnson's role.[2]
Timmons died at his home in Washington, D.C., ofpneumonia at the age of ninety-seven.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
