Tackett was born near
Black Springs in
Montgomery County in southwestern Arkansas. He moved with his parents to
Glenwood, Arkansas, and attended public school; afterwards, he matriculated at
Arkansas Polytechnic College at
Russellville (1930–1932), continued at
Ouachita College in
Arkadelphia (1932–1933), and graduated in 1935 from the
University of Arkansas School of Law at
Fayetteville. After being admitted to the bar, Tackett practiced law in
Glenwood,
Murfreesboro, and
Nashville, Arkansas, until he was elected in 1936 to the
Arkansas House of Representatives. He also served as the
prosecuting attorney of the 9th Judicial Circuit of Arkansas until 1943, when he enlisted in the
United States Army. Tackett served as a
corporal in the
Signal Corps until his discharge in 1944, when he resumed his law practice in Nashville. In 1948, Tackett was elected as a member of the
U.S. House of Representatives from
Arkansas's 4th Congressional District as a
Democrat to the
81st and
82nd Congresses. He did not seek reelection to the House in 1952 but instead lost his bid for the Democratic
gubernatorial nomination to
Francis Cherry. Tackett returned to
Texarkana and his law practice, where he remained until retirement in 1980. Tackett lived again in Nashville, Arkansas, from 1983 until his death two years later. He was interred there at Restland Memorial Park. ==References==