Interview with Wilson W. Wyatt, December 4, 1986

Interview Summary

Wilson Wyatt discusses the studies at Jefferson Law School that he undertook while working to supporting himself, as well as his occasional teaching at the same school after he set up his own law practice. He discusses his entering politics via the newly founded Young Men's Democratic Club, which supported Democratic presidential candidate Al Smith in 1928. He discusses his courtship and marriage to Anne Kinnard Duncan in 1930, the same year in which he began to serve as secretary of the Kentucky Bar Association. He discusses his involvement in the 1932 presidential election and the 1933 Louisville, Kentucky mayoral election in which he supported Neville Miller. He describes his work as a trial attorney during this time, his managing political campaigns in 1934, and his move in 1935 to the law firm of Peter, Heyburn, and Marshall. He discusses at length his work as legal counsel to newspaper and news media companies in Louisville, particularly in connection with libel charges. He reflects on his declining to run for mayor in 1937 due to financial constraints. He recounts the relief efforts undertaken during the 1937 Ohio River flood, describes his discussion with President Franklin D. Roosevelt on whether Wyatt might serve the national government during the Second World War, and discusses his family life in the 1930s. In the course of the interview, Mr. Wyatt discusses his relationships with various people, such as Governor Albert "Happy" Chandler, Barry Bingham, Judge Robert Worth Bingham, and Mark Etheridge.

Interview Keyword

George Barry Bingham, Sr. Libel and slander Marriage Newspapers Political campaigns

Interview LC Subject

Kentucky--Politics and government Louisville (Ky.) Politicians--Kentucky Practice of law Wyatt, Wilson W. (Wilson Watkins), 1905-1996

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Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.