Byron N. Scott
Scott in 1935
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromCalifornia's18th district
In office January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1939
Preceded by	John H. Burke
Succeeded by	Thomas M. Eaton
Secretary of the California Highway Commission
In office March 7, 1939 – June 28, 1940
Appointed by	Culbert Olson
Preceded by	Julien D. Roussel
Succeeded by	Walter Chambers
Personal details
Born	Byron Nicholson Scott (1903-03-21)March 21, 1903 Council Grove, Kansas, U.S.
Died	December 21, 1991(1991-12-21) (aged 88) Sun City, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Eunice May Freed ​ (m. 1937)​
Alma mater	University of Kansas (A.B.) University of Southern California (M.A.) National University School of Law (B.L.)
Occupation	Educator, lawyer

Byron Nicholson Scott (March 21, 1903 – December 21, 1991) was an Americaneducator,lawyer andpolitician who served as the secondUnited States Representative forCalifornia's 18th congressional district for two terms, from 1935 to 1939.^[1]

Scott was born on March 21, 1903, inCouncil Grove inMorris County, Kansas. He was raised in Council Grove and went through the town's public school system.^[2] He went to theUniversity of Kansas at Lawrence, and graduated from the school in 1924.^[2] After graduating, Scott became a teacher inTucson, Arizona, and taught there until 1926. Afterwards, he moved to go teach at public schools inLong Beach, California. During the while, he went to theUniversity of Southern California where he obtained his master's degree in 1930.^[2] He taught in Long Beach until 1934, when he got involved in politics.^[2]

Scott first served as a delegate to theCalifornia Democratic state convention in 1934. Scott also ran for theUnited States House of Representatives seat for California's recently formed18th congressional district. After getting the Democratic nomination, he ran against Republican William Brayton. Scott defeated Brayton by capturing 56.3% of the vote, in comparison to his 43.2%.^[3] From June 23, 1936, to June 27, 1936, he served as a delegate in theDemocratic National Convention held atConvention Hall inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania,^[1] in which they renominatedFranklin D. Roosevelt to be the presidential candidate, andJohn Nance Garner as his vice-presidential running mate.^[4] Later that year, Scott ran for re-election as the representative for the 18th district, and easily defeated Republican challenger James F. Collins by more than 18,000 votes in a 58.9%-41.0% majority.^[5]

During his tenure, Scott was labeled California's "EPIC Congressman" by some newspapers due to his support forUpton Sinclair and hisEnd Poverty in California program in the1934 California gubernatorial election.^[6][7] He was thekeynote speaker at the first meeting of theWilmington EPIC Club on June 8, 1934, and campaigned for Congress on EPIC's economic platform.^[8]

In the1938 House elections, Scott was challenged byThomas M. Eaton. In a close race, Eaton squeezed past Scott by a mere 342 vote, or 0.3% margin.^[9] For the next two years, he served as the secretary of theCalifornia Highway Commission. Scott again ran for the seat in 1940 but lost to Republican challengerWard Johnson by a nearly 10% majority.^[10] After spending 1941 and 1942 in theconstructionbusiness, Scott served on Roosevelt'sWorld War IIWar Production Board inWashington, D.C., until the end of the war in 1945.^[2]

Scott spent the next few years pursuing hisBachelor of Laws degree from theNational University School of Law. After graduating in 1949, he was admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C., where he started up hispractice.

From 1953 to 1955, he representedU.S. Treasury officialWilliam Henry Taylor before theInternational Organization Employees Loyalty Board (IOELB).^[11]

In 1954, he representedU.S. Treasury officialGeorge A. Eddy during congressional loyalty/security hearings related to ongoing investigations into Eddy's Treasury superiorHarry Dexter White.

In 1959, he representedFrank Kameny in his lawsuit against the Secretary of the Army. Kameny, who had been fired "for homosexuality", filed the case challenging the US Government's ban on homosexual employees. After summary judgment was granted at the Justice Department's request, Scott represented Kameny in his appeal. Kameny worked alone after losing appeal, basing his Petition for Writ of Certiorari on a sample provided by Scott. His was the firstgay rights case to be presented to theUnited States Supreme Court. Although the Court denied him certiorari, On June 29, 2009,John Berry (Director of the Office of Personnel Management) formally apologized to Kameny on behalf of the United States government. Kameny's filings and other papers are housed in theLibrary of Congress.^[2]

Scott retired from his law practice in 1979 and lived as a resident ofSun City, California, until his death on December 21, 1991, at the age of 88.^[2]

• Frank Kameny
• George A. Eddy

• Biography at theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress
• The Political Graveyard profile for Byron N. Scott

• Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from California
• University of Kansas alumni
• University of Southern California alumni
• 1903 births
• 1991 deaths
• People from Council Grove, Kansas
• 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives
• Culbert Olson administration personnel
• Culbert Olson political appointees

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata