{{Short description|American politician (1903–1978)}} {{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2026}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Phillip Colgan Ferguson | image = Informal photo of Rep. Phil Ferguson, Democrat of Okla., Feb. 1940 LCCN2016877070 (cropped).jpg | caption = Ferguson in 1940 | state = Oklahoma | district = 8th | term = January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1941 | preceded = E.W. Marland | succeeded = Ross Rizley | birth_date = {{birth date|1903|8|15|mf=y}} | birth_place = Wellington, Kansas, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1978|8|08|1903|8|15}} | death_place = Tijuana, Mexico | spouse = Martha Sharon Naoma L. Restine | profession = Banker | party = Democratic<br>Republican | alma_mater = University of Kansas | allegiance = {{flag|United States|1912}} | branch = border|20px Marine Corps | service_years = 1942–1944 | rank = 20px Major | battles = World War II | unit = Company A, First Battalion, Ninth Marines<br>Marine Raiders regiment | mawards = border|22px Silver Star }}
'''Phillip Colgan Ferguson''' (August 15, 1903 – August 8, 1978) was an American politician serving as a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma. Phil Ferguson was born on August 15, 1903, in Wellington, Kansas, to W. M. and May Deems Ferguson. Ferguson attended public schools in Wellington, the Kemper Military School in Missouri, and graduated from the University of Kansas at Lawrence, A.B., in 1926. He moved to Oklahoma and settled on a ranch near Woodward, Woodward County, working on agricultural pursuits and cattle raising. Ferguson's interest in cattle ranching later earned him a position as a president of the Northwest Cattlemen's Association and vice president of the Oklahoma Cattlemen's Association. He was also director of the Bank of Woodward, which was owned by his father.
==Political career== Ferguson was elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-fourth and to the two succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1941). As a member of the Committee on Flood Control, he helped to initiate federal involvement in soil conservation and water resources development, establishing programs that constructed reservoirs and planted native grasses in northwestern Oklahoma. In addition, he was on the Census, Elections, Public Buildings and Grounds, Irrigation and Reclamation, Rivers and Harbors, and Agriculture Committees.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/F/FE011.html |title=Ferguson, Phillip Colgan (1903-1978) |access-date=2009-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718053847/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/F/FE011.html |archive-date=2010-07-18 }}</ref> Following two unsuccessful reelection campaigns in 1940 (Seventy-seventh Congress) and 1944 (Seventy-ninth Congress), he resumed his former pursuits. He was also an unsuccessful Democratic gubernatorial candidate in 1950 and Republican Oklahoma gubernatorial candidate in 1958. Ferguson served on the Federal Reserve Board in Oklahoma City and as director of the Farm Credit Administration in Wichita, Kansas.
==Military service== During World War II, Ferguson was a commissioned major in United States Marine Corps from March 2, 1942, to August 1, 1944, receiving the Silver Star Medal. He saw action in the Pacific Theater in Company A, First Battalion, Ninth Marines and in the Marine Raiders Regiment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/F/FE011.html |title=Ferguson, Phillip Colgan (1903-1978) |access-date=2009-10-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100718053847/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/F/FE011.html |archive-date=2010-07-18 }}</ref>
==Personal life and death== He resided in Woodward, Oklahoma, until his death in Tijuana, Mexico, August 8, 1978. Phil Ferguson was cremated, and his ashes were scattered on the Pacific Ocean at San Diego, California.
==Sources== {{CongBio|F000082}} <references/>
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline|Phil Ferguson}} {{Portal|Biography}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20100718053847/http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/F/FE011.html Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture - Ferguson, Phillip] *[https://arc.ou.edu/repositories/3/resources/97 Phillip C. Ferguson Collection] and [https://arc.ou.edu/repositories/3/archival_objects/255946 Photograph Collection] at the Carl Albert Center
{{s-start}} {{S-ppo}} {{S-bef|before=Reuben K. Sparks}} {{S-ttl|title=Republican nominee for Governor of Oklahoma|years=1958}} {{S-aft|after=Henry Bellmon}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box |state= Oklahoma |district= 8 |before= E.W. Marland |after= Ross Rizley |years= 1935–1941}} {{s-end}} {{OKRepresentatives}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferguson, Phillip Colgan}} Category:1903 births Category:1978 deaths Category:Oklahoma Republicans Category:United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II Category:United States Marine Corps officers Category:Recipients of the Silver Star Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Oklahoma Category:People from Wellington, Kansas Category:American anti-communists Category:American cattlemen Category:20th-century Oklahoma politicians Category:20th-century United States representatives