Don B. Colton

{{Short description|American politician (1876–1952)}}  {{Infobox officeholder | name = Don B. Colton | image = COLTON, DON B. HONORABLE LCCN2016861009 (crop 2).jpg | birth_date = {{birth date|1876|09|15}} | birth_place = [[Mona, Utah|Mona]], [[Utah Territory]] | death_date = {{death date and age|1952|08|01|1876|09|15}} | death_place = [[Salt Lake City, Utah]], U.S. | state1 = [[Utah]] | district1 = [[Utah's 1st congressional district|1st]] | term_start1 = March 4, 1921 | term_end1 = March 3, 1933 | preceded1 = [[Milton H. Welling]] | succeeded1 = [[Abe Murdock]] | office2 = Member of the [[Utah Senate]] | term2 = 1915–1917 | office3 = Member of the [[Utah House of Representatives]] | term3 = 1903 | party = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] | spouse = Mazie Hall <br> Grace Stringham | children = 4 | resting_place = Wasatch Lawn Cemetery | alma_mater = [[Brigham Young University]]<br>[[University of Michigan Law School]] }}

'''Don Byron Colton''' (September 15, 1876 – August 1, 1952) was an American lawyer and politician who served six consecutive terms as a [[United States House of Representatives|U.S. representative]] from [[Utah]] from 1921 to 1933.

==Early life== Born near [[Mona, Utah|Mona]], [[Juab County, Utah|Juab County]], [[Utah Territory]], Colton moved with his parents to [[Uintah County, Utah|Uintah County]], Utah Territory in 1879. He attended the public schools and the Uintah Academy, [[Vernal, Utah]]. He was graduated from the commercial department of [[Brigham Young University]], [[Provo, Utah]], in 1896. He graduated from the law department of the [[University of Michigan at Ann Arbor]] in 1905. He was [[Admission to the bar in the United States|admitted to the bar]] the same year and commenced practice in [[Vernal, Utah]].

==Political career== Colton was receiver of the United States land office at Vernal from 1905 to 1914. He served as delegate to the Republican National Conventions in 1904, 1924, and 1928 as well as a delegate to the Republican State conventions from in 1914 and 1924. He was an unsuccessful candidate for [[United States Senator]] in 1934.

He was an unsuccessful candidate for [[Governor of Utah]] in 1940.

===Utah House of Representatives=== Colton served as member of the [[Utah House of Representatives]] in 1903. He also served as member of the State senate from 1915 to 1917.

===Congress=== Colton was elected as a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] to the [[67th United States Congress|Sixty-seventh]] and to the five succeeding Congresses (March 4, 1921 – March 3, 1933). He served as chairman of the Committee on Elections No. 1 ([[69th United States Congress|Sixty-ninth]] and [[70th United States Congress|Seventieth]] Congresses), Committee on Public Lands (Seventieth and [[71st United States Congress|Seventy-first]] Congresses). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1932 to the [[73rd United States Congress|Seventy-third]] Congress. While in Congress Colton served as the [[Sunday School (LDS Church)|Sunday School]] teacher for the LDS Church Sunday School in [[Washington, D.C.]]<ref>Kimball, Spencer W., talk in October 1968 general conference</ref>

==Professional career== He engaged in teaching in 1898, 1901, and 1902. Colton resumed the practice of law in [[Vernal, Utah]].

From 1910 to 1921 Colton served as the president of the Uintah [[Stake (Latter Day Saints)|Stake]] of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] (LDS Church).<ref>[[Andrew Jenson]]. ''Latter-day Saint Biographical Encyclopedia'', vol. 4, p. 651</ref> From 1933 to 1937, Colton served as [[Mission president|president]] of the Eastern States [[Mission (LDS Church)|Mission]] of the LDS Church.<ref>[http://gospelink.com/next/doc?book_doc_id=219079 Conference Report, April 1935 - Elder Don B. Colton]{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

He moved to [[Salt Lake City]] in 1937 and continued the practice of law.

He also engaged in farming, ranching, sheep and stock raising, and other business enterprises.

==Death== Colton died in [[Salt Lake City, Utah]], August 1, 1952. Immediately prior to this he was serving as the head of the LDS Church mission home in Salt Lake City.<ref>''Conferences Report'' General Conference of the LDS Church, October 1952, p. 4</ref> Colton had been serving in this position since he had taken over from [[J. Wyley Sessions]] in 1938.

Colton was interred in Wasatch Lawn Cemetery.

==Sources== {{reflist}} {{CongBio|C000652}}

{{s-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=Ernest Bamberger}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[List of United States senators from Utah|U.S. Senator from Utah]]<br>([[Classes of United States senators|Class 1]])|years=[[1934 United States Senate election in Utah|1934]]}} {{s-aft|after=Philo Farnsworth}} {{s-bef|before=Ray E. Dillman}} {{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[List of Governors of Utah|Governor of Utah]]|years=[[1940 Utah gubernatorial election|1940]]}} {{s-aft|after=[[J. Bracken Lee]]}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Utah | district=1 | before=[[Milton H. Welling]] | after=[[Abe Murdock]] | years=1921–1933 }} {{s-end}} {{US House Natural Resources chairs}} {{UtahUSRepresenatives}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colton, Don Byron}} [[Category:1876 births]] [[Category:1952 deaths]] [[Category:20th-century Mormon missionaries]] [[Category:American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] [[Category:American Mormon missionaries in the United States]] [[Category:Brigham Young University alumni]] [[Category:Latter Day Saints from Utah]] [[Category:Republican Party members of the Utah House of Representatives]] [[Category:Mission presidents (LDS Church)]] [[Category:People from Juab County, Utah]] [[Category:People from Vernal, Utah]] [[Category:Republican Party United States representatives from Utah]] [[Category:University of Michigan Law School alumni]] [[Category:Utah lawyers]] [[Category:Republican Party Utah state senators]] [[Category:20th-century United States representatives]] [[Category:20th-century members of the Utah Legislature]]