Key Pittman
Key Denson Pittman (September 19, 1872 – November 10, 1940) was a United States Senator from Nevada, serving eventually as its president pro tempore and its chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations. He was a Democrat.
Biography
Early years
Pittman was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi, in 1872. He had a younger brother Vail, who would later serve as Governor of Nevada.
Pittman was educated by private tutors and at the Southwestern Presbyterian University in Clarksville, Tennessee. He studied law, then later became a lawyer. In 1897, Pittman joined in the Klondike Gold Rush and worked as a miner until 1901.
Pittman moved to Tonopah, Nevada, in 1902 and continued the practice of law. He represented Nevada at the St. Louis Exposition, the Lewis & Clark Centennial Exposition, and the National Irrigation Congress.
Political career
In 1910, he made an unsuccessful run for the Senate. Later, he was elected as a Democrat to the Senate in 1913 to fill the vacancy caused by the death of George S. Nixon, and served until his death in 1940.