{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Victor Eugene Wickersham | image = Victor Wickersham.jpg | state1 = Oklahoma | constituency1 = 6th district | term_start1 = January 3, 1961 | term_end1 = January 3, 1965 | preceded1 = Toby Morris | succeeded1 = Jed Johnson, Jr. | constituency2 = 7th district (1949–1953)<br>6th district (1953–1957) | term_start2 = January 3, 1949 | term_end2 = January 3, 1957 | preceded2 = Preston E. Peden | succeeded2 = Toby Morris | constituency3 = 7th district | term_start3 = April 1, 1941 | term_end3 = January 3, 1947 | preceded3 = Sam C. Massingale | succeeded3 = Preston E. Peden | office4 = Member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives | term_start4 = January 3, 1971 | term_end4 = January 3, 1979 | term_start5 = February 9, 1988 | term_end5 = March 15, 1988 | birth_date = {{birth date text|February 9, 1906}} | death_date = {{death date and age|March 15, 1988|February 9, 1906}} | birth_place = Lone Rock, Arkansas, U.S. | death_place = Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S. | spouse = {{ubl | Jessie Blaine Stiles Wickersham | Lorene Dennis Wickersham }} | children = 4 | profession = court clerk, building contractor, real estate agent, insurance agent, investment broker, politician | party = Democratic | alma_mater = <!--Military service--> | nickname = | allegiance = | branch = | service_years = | rank = | unit = | commands = | battles = | awards = }} '''Victor Eugene Wickersham''' (February 9, 1906 – March 15, 1988) was an American politician and a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma.

==Early life and education== Born on a farm near Lone Rock, Arkansas, Wickersham was the son of Frank Morrell and Lillie Mae Sword Wickersham. He moved to Mangum, Oklahoma, with his parents in 1915 and was educated in the public schools of Oklahoma.{{Citation needed|date = September 2015}}

==Career== Employed in the office of the county clerk of Greer County, Oklahoma from 1924 to 1926, Wickersham was appointed as court clerk of Greer County from 1926 to 1935. On June 30, 1929, he married Jessie Blaine Stiles of Mangum. As the county clerk, he issued his own marriage license. Four children were born to the marriage, LaMelba, Nelda, Galen, and Victor Wickersham II.<ref>{{cite web|title=Victor Wickersham|url=http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/w/wi006.html|publisher=Oklahoma Historical Society|access-date=5 June 2013}}</ref>

Wickersham served as chief clerk of the board of affairs of the State of Oklahoma in 1935 and 1936. He engaged as a building contractor in Oklahoma City in 1937 and 1938 and in the life insurance business 1938–1941. Wickersham also worked as a real estate, insurance, and investment broker.<ref>{{cite web|title=Victor Wickersham|url=http://bioguide.congress.gov/scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=W000439|publisher=Biographical Directory of the United States Congress|access-date=5 June 2013}}</ref>

==Congressional tenure== Wickersham was elected as a Democrat to the 77th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Sam C. Massingale. He was reelected to the 78th and 79th Congresses and served from April 1, 1941, to January 3, 1947. He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1946, but was reelected to the 81st and to the three succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1949 – January 3, 1957). He was not renominated in 1956 and 1958. He succeeded in his election to the 87th and to the 88th Congresses (January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1965).<ref>{{cite web|title=Victor Wickersham|url=http://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/victor_wickersham/411597|publisher=Govtrack US Congress|access-date=5 June 2013}}</ref> He was an unsuccessful candidate for renomination in 1964 to the 89th Congress.

Wickersham did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto, and voted for the Twenty-Fourth Amendment (abolishing the poll tax) in 1962, but voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/88-1964/h128|title=H.R. 7152. PASSAGE.}}</ref>

By the end of his Congressional career, Wickersham had built up a predominantly liberal voting record.<ref>[https://www.rightdatausa.com/bio?id=wickevi01 RightData USA Ideology Data for Victor Wickersham]</ref>

===State legislature=== In 1984 Wickersham's wife, Jessie, died. He married Lorene Dennis in 1986. He served as member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives from January 3, 1971, to January 3, 1979, and again from February 9, 1988, until his death.<ref name="GJH">Hudson, Geneva Johnston (AuthorHouse, 2005). ''Statesman or Rogue: Elected to Serve''. {{ISBN|1-4208-2503-8}}</ref> He was the oldest state legislator in office in 1988 at the age of 82.<ref name="GJH"/>

==Death== Wickersham died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, on March 15, 1988 (age 82 years, 35 days). He is interred at Riverside Cemetery, Mangum, Oklahoma.<ref>{{cite web|title=Victor Wickersham|url=http://politicalgraveyard.com/bio/whitten-wickware.html|publisher=The Political Graveyard|access-date=5 June 2013}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{CongBio|W000439}} *[http://cacarchives.ou.edu/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=129 Victor E. Wickersham Collection] and [http://cacarchives.ou.edu/index.php?p=collections/findingaid&id=129&q=&rootcontentid=613764#id613764 Photograph Series] at the Carl Albert Center * {{Find a Grave|11888940}}

{{s-start}} {{s-par|us-hs}} {{US House succession box | state= Oklahoma | district= 7 | before= Sam C. Massingale | after= Preston E. Peden | years= 1941–1947}} {{US House succession box | state= Oklahoma | district= 7 | before= Preston E. Peden | after= ''District inactive'' | years= 1949–1953}} {{US House succession box | state= Oklahoma | district= 6 | before= Toby Morris | after= Toby Morris | years= 1953–1957}} {{US House succession box | state= Oklahoma | district= 6 | before= Toby Morris | after= Jed Johnson, Jr. | years= 1961–1965}} {{s-end}}

{{OKRepresentatives}} {{USCongRep-start | congresses= 81st&ndash;84th and 87th&ndash;88thUnited States Congresses | state=Oklahoma}} {{USCongRep/OK/81}} {{USCongRep/OK/82}} {{USCongRep/OK/83}} {{USCongRep/OK/84}} {{USCongRep/OK/87}} {{USCongRep/OK/88}} {{USCongRep-end}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Wickersham, Victor Eugene}} Category:1906 births Category:1988 deaths Category:People from Baxter County, Arkansas Category:People from Greer County, Oklahoma Category:Democratic Party members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Category:Democratic Party United States representatives from Oklahoma Category:People from Mangum, Oklahoma Category:20th-century members of the Oklahoma House of Representatives Category:20th-century United States representatives