Ernest Rankin Fite (September 1,1916 –November 6,1980) was an Alabama state legislator and attorney.
Fite was born in Montgomery,Alabama to Ernest Baxter and Minnie Watt Fite. [1] His grandfather,Bloomer Rankin Fite,established a firm and practiced law in the Hamilton,Alabama area in the 1880s,with four of his sons,including Ernest Rankin's father. Ernest Baxter Fite also served in the Alabama House of Representatives and Alabama Senate for Marion County,Alabama. [2]
Fite graduated from the University of Alabama with a LL.B degree in 1939 and joined his family firm after being admitted to the bar. [1] He was commissioned as a second lieutenant for World War II where he went overseas to fly as a navigator. After the war,he returned to law practice in 1945. [2]
He was elected to the Alabama Senate in 1946 and served as a floor leader. He ran successfully for the House of Representatives in 1950 and served five consecutive terms there,serving as speaker on two occasions. [3] While serving in the house and senate,Fite also served as bank director for the Bank of Hackleburg and president of the Marion County Banking Company. [1] During his time in the house,he sought improvements to his hometown of Hamilton,revamping streets and sewer systems. [4]
On February 16,1968,Fite,then Speaker of the House,placed the ceremonial first 9-1-1 call from the town of Haleyville at the invitation of the Alabama Telephone Company. [5] The emergency system had been rushed into service by the Alabama Telephone Company in an effort to show the innovative prowess of the independent telephone industry. [6] Fite's call was answered by then-Congressman Tom Bevill. [6]
He retired from politics in 1974 due to failing health,having suffered from Parkinson's disease prior to retiring. [2] He died of a heart attack in 1980. [3] He was married in 1941 to Ruby Alene Morris with whom he had one son,Ernest Adams. [1]
Upon his death in 1980,Fite was described as "one of the most masterful members of the state legislature". Former governor George C. Wallace commented that "[today was] truly a sad day,as we experience the loss of a man who in legislative circles had already become a legend". [3]
Marion County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the population was 29,341. The county seat is Hamilton. The county was created by an act of the Alabama Territorial General Assembly on February 13,1818. The county seat was originally established in Pikeville in 1820,and moved to Hamilton in 1881. The county was named by planter and US Indian agent John Dabney Terrell,Sr.,in recognition of General Francis Marion of South Carolina.
Hamilton is a city in and the county seat of Marion County,Alabama,United States. It incorporated in 1896 and since 1980 has been the county's largest city,surpassing Winfield. It was previously the largest town in 1910. At the 2020 census,the population was 7,042.
911,sometimes written 9-1-1,is an emergency telephone number for Argentina,Canada,the Dominican Republic,Fiji,Jordan,Iraq,Mexico,Pakistan,Maldives,Palau,Panama,the Philippines,Sint Maarten,the United States,and Uruguay,as well as the North American Numbering Plan (NANP),one of eight N11 codes. Like other emergency numbers,dialing 911 for whatever purpose is a crime in most jurisdictions. Penalties for abuse or misuse of 911 can range from probation or community service to fines and jail time. Offenders can also be ordered to undergo counseling and have their use of telephones restricted or suspended for a period of time as a condition of probation.
An emergency telephone number is a number that allows a caller to contact local emergency services for assistance. The emergency number differs from country to country;it is typically a three-digit number so that it can be easily remembered and dialed quickly. Some countries have a different emergency number for each of the different emergency services;these often differ only by the last digit.
James Henderson Berry was a United States Senator and served as the 14th governor of Arkansas. He also served as Speaker of the Arkansas House of Representatives.
John Hollis Bankhead was an American politician and Confederate Army soldier. A member of the Democratic Party,Bankhead served as U.S. Senator from the state of Alabama from 1907 until his death in 1920. Bankhead had additionally served in the United States House of Representatives,the Alabama Legislature,and as warden of the state penitentiary in Wetumpka.
Tom Donald Fike Bevill was an American attorney,politician,and Democratic fifteen-term U.S. congressman who represented Alabama's 4th Congressional District and Alabama's 7th congressional district from 1967 to 1997.
Adam Rankin Alexander was an American slave owner and politician who represented Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives.
Marion Military Institute,the Military College of Alabama,is a public military junior college in Marion,Alabama. Founded in 1842,it is the official state military college of Alabama and the nation's oldest military junior college.
Marion DeKalb Taylor or M. D. K. Taylor was an American politician in Alabama and Texas,and a Texas militia colonel during the American Civil War. He was a member of the Alabama Legislature for two stints between 1842 and 1846,and served in both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate. In the Texas House,Taylor served three non-consecutive terms as Speaker of the House,and,in the Texas Senate,was twice elected President pro tempore of the Texas Senate.
The Euphradian Society,also known as Phi Alpha Epsilon (ΦΑΕ),is a collegiate debating and literary society founded in 1806 at the University of South Carolina,then known as South Carolina College.
Arthur Orr is an American politician serving in the Alabama State Senate and as the Executive Vice President for Cook's Pest Control. First elected in 2006,he is currently Chairman of the Senate Finance and Taxation Education Committee. He previously served as Chairman of the Senate Finance and Taxation General Fund Committee. Born in Decatur Alabama,Orr is an alumnus of Wake Forest University,where he received a Bachelor of Arts,and the University of Alabama School of Law,where he received a Juris Doctor degree.
Joseph Charles McCorquodale,Jr. was a United States politician from Alabama,who served as the Speaker of the Alabama House of Representatives and unsuccessfully ran for Governor on the basis of the "McCorquodale plan" for Alabama. He was a member of Democratic Party. He was born in Mobile,Alabama.
The 2002 United States Senate election in Alabama was held on November 5,2002. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Jeff Sessions won re-election to a second term. Sessions became the first Republican to be elected to two full terms to the Senate from the state. As of 2022,this is the most recent Senate election in Alabama in which Colbert and Lawrence counties voted for the Democratic candidate.
John Bruce "Chip" Saltsman Jr. is an American politician who has served as chairman of the Tennessee Republican Party from 1999 to 2001,senior political advisor to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist,and manager of Mike Huckabee's 2008 presidential campaign. He also worked for the Chuck Fleischmann campaign in Tennessee's 3rd district from 2009 to 2010. Saltsman also worked for Randy Boyd's unsuccessful Tennessee Gubernatorial campaign in 2018.
The Ernest Baxter Fite House is a historic residence in Hamilton,Alabama. Designed by Weatherly Carter,who had designed what later became the Alabama Governor's Mansion,the house was built in 1927–1928 for Ernest Baxter Fite,then a member of the Alabama House of Representatives and a former state senator. Ernest's son,Rankin Fite,served two terms as Speaker of the state House.
Addison Clay Harris was a lawyer and civic leader in Indianapolis,Indiana,who served as a Republican member of the Indiana Senate and a U.S. Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary (ambassador) to Austria-Hungary. The Wayne County,Indiana,native graduated from Northwestern Christian University in 1862 and was admitted to the bar in 1865,the same year he established a law partnership with John T. Dye in Indianapolis. Harris was a founding member (1878) and president of the Indianapolis Bar Association;a founder and president of the Indiana Law School,which was a forerunner to the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis;a presidential elector in 1896;president of the Indiana State Bar Association (1904);a member (1905–1916) and president of Purdue University's board of trustees;and a member of the Indiana Historical Society and the Columbia Club.
Danny Garrett is an American politician who has represented District 44 in the Alabama House of Representatives since 2014. A member of the Republican Party,Garrett currently serves as the House majority whip. He represents the 44th House District in Jefferson County,which includes the cities of Trussville,Clay and portions of Pinson.
Kyle Walker is an American politician serving as a member of the Indiana Senate from Senate District 31. He assumed office on November 17,2020.
The Alabama Telephone Company was an American independent telephone company in Northwest Alabama,operating in the mid-20th century and serving Pickens County,Fayette County,and the Haleyville area. At its peak,it was the largest telephone company in Alabama outside of the Bell System. It is best known for being the first telephone company in North America to implement 9-1-1 service.
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