{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | birth_name = Thomas Bacon Fugate | name = Thomas B. Fugate | image = Thomas Fugate.jpg | birth_date = {{birth date|1899|4|10|mf=y}} | birth_place = [[Claiborne County, Tennessee]], U.S. | death_date={{nowrap|{{death date and age|1980|9|22|1899|4|10|mf=y}}}} | death_place=[[Ewing, Virginia]], U.S. | state = [[Virginia]] | district = [[Virginia's 9th congressional district|9th]] | term_start= January 3, 1949 | term_end = January 3, 1953 | preceded = [[John W. Flannagan Jr.]] | succeeded = [[William C. Wampler]] | office2 = Member of the [[Virginia House of Delegates]] from [[Lee County, Virginia|Lee County]] | term_start2= January 11, 1928 | term_end2 = January 8, 1930 | preceded2 = [[F. R. Stickley]] | succeeded2 = [[John J. Reasor]] | party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] | spouse = Lillian Oretta Rowlett | alma_mater = [[University of Tennessee]]<br>[[Lincoln Memorial University]] }}
'''Thomas Bacon Fugate''' (April 10, 1899 – September 22, 1980) was an American businessman, banker, farmer and politician. He served in the [[United States representative]] from [[Virginia]] in the [[81st United States Congress|Eighty-first]] and [[82nd United States Congress|Eighty-second Congresses]]. Fugate was elected to Congress as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]].
==Early life== Thomas Fugate was born on April 10, 1899, on a farm near [[Tazewell, Tennessee|Tazewell]], in [[Claiborne County, Tennessee]].<ref name=Lillian>{{cite journal|last1=Fugate|first1=Lillian|title=Thomas B. Fugate; Ex-Congressman|journal=Historical Sketches of Southwest Virginia|volume=6|date=1972|pages=55–63|url=http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~vahsswv/historicalsketches/fugate%20thomasb.html|accessdate=22 August 2015|publisher=Historical Society of Southwest Virginia}}</ref> He attended public schools before pursuing higher education at the [[University of Tennessee]] and [[Lincoln Memorial University]].<ref name=Congbio>{{cite web|title=FUGATE, Thomas Bacon, (1899 - 1980)|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=F000399|website=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|accessdate=23 August 2015}}</ref> In 1918, he married Lillian Rowlett, a union that produced five children. Soon after, Fugate moved his family to [[Ewing, Virginia]], to pursue his business interests. Like his father, Thomas Fugate's business focused on banking, trade and farming.<ref name=Lillian/>
==Politics and later pursuits== Without being asked, Fugate was nominated as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] candidate for the [[Virginia House of Delegates]].<ref name=Lillian/> He served in the House for one term, from 1928 to 1930. After leaving office, Fugate continued to take on a variety of business positions, including president of the Peoples Bank of Ewing, director of the Virginia-Tennessee [[Farm Bureau]], and president of the Ewing Live Stock Company.<ref name=Congbio/>
Fugate's interest in politics remained strong, and in 1945 he was selected as a member of the [[Virginia Constitution]]al Convention. He had also become a successful [[campaign manager]] for local Congressman [[John W. Flannagan, Jr.|John Flanagan]]. When Flanagan decided to retire in 1948, Fugate was selected as the Democratic nominee to replace him.<ref name=Lillian/> He was subsequently elected to the [[81st United States Congress|Eighty-first]] and [[82nd United States Congress|Eighty-second Congresses]] on behalf of the [[Virginia's 9th congressional district|9th Virginia district]].<ref name=Congbio/>
As a Congressman, Fugate's main achievement was for legislation he sponsored in regard to the operations of the [[Panama Canal]], for which he received commendations from the army and the United States President.<ref name=Lillian/> With his banking experience, Fugate also selected to the Banking and Currency Committee and helped to oversee the loans made by the [[Export-Import Bank of the United States|Export-Import Bank]]. However, Fugate was also accused of being a member of the powerful [[Byrd Organization|Byrd political machine]].<ref>{{cite news|last1=Pearson|first1=Drew|title=Washington Merry-Go-Round|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1928&dat=19510627&id=Pqg0AAAAIBAJ&pg=2744,8480826&hl=en|accessdate=25 August 2015|work=[[The Lewiston Daily Sun]]|date=27 June 1951}}</ref>
Fugate chose not to stand for a third term in Congress, instead returning to his farming and business interests in Ewing.<ref name=Congbio/> However, he continued to serve in various high-profile positions, including more than twenty years on the [[board of trustees]] for Lincoln Memorial University<ref name=Lillian/> and as a member of the Virginia Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Committee.<ref>{{cite news|title=Two New Men Named on State ASC Group|url=http://virginiachronicle.com/cgi-bin/virginia?a=d&d=VFBN19610401.1.1#|accessdate=25 August 2015|work=The Virginia Farm Bureau News|issue=4|date=April 1961|volume = 21}}</ref>
Fugate died on September 22, 1980, at the age of 81.
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{CongBio|F000399}} * [https://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/fryall-fullam.html The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Fryall to Fullenwider]
{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state=Virginia | district=9 | before=[[John W. Flannagan, Jr.]] | after=[[William C. Wampler]] | years= 1949–1953 }} {{s-end}} {{VirginiaRepresentatives09}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fugate, Thomas Bacon}} [[Category:1899 births]] [[Category:1980 deaths]] [[Category:People from Claiborne County, Tennessee]] [[Category:University of Tennessee alumni]] [[Category:Lincoln Memorial University alumni]] [[Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Virginia]] [[Category:People from Lee County, Virginia]] [[Category:Democratic Party members of the Virginia House of Delegates]] [[Category:20th-century United States representatives]] [[Category:20th-century members of the Virginia General Assembly]]