Early years Pittman was born in
Vicksburg, 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 as
Governor of Nevada. Nevada held a popular vote for the Senate in 1910, in which Pittman was the Democratic nominee; he lost to
Republican incumbent
George 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 the
Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Pittman was the chairman of the powerful
Committee 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 a
cash-and-carry basis. He was a member of the Committee on Territories and the
Committee on Industrial Expositions. In addition, during those years Pittman was also
President pro tempore of the United States Senate. Among his legislation is the
Pittman–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. The Key Pittman Wildlife Management Area near
Hiko, Nevada, which encompasses the Frenchy and Nesbitt lakes, is named in his honor.
Death and legacy . It was falsely rumored for years that Pittman died before his
final election in 1940, and that Democratic party leaders kept the body at Tonopah's
Mizpah Hotel in a bathtub full of ice until after he was reelected so Governor
Edward 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 severe
heart 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. Pittman died on November 10 at the
Washoe General Hospital in
Reno, Nevada. He was buried at Masonic Memorial Gardens in Reno. Several pieces of legislation bore his name, including the
Pittman Act of 1918, concerning silver coinage, and the
Pittman–Robertson Federal Aid in Wildlife Restoration Act of 1937. The Pittman section of the
Alaska Railroad, more commonly known today as the community of
Meadow Lakes west of
Wasilla, was also named for him. Pittman Road runs north from its intersection with the
George Parks Highway at "downtown" Meadow Lakes. A section of the city of
Henderson, 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. ==See also==