John Morgan Bright

Democrat Representative of Tennessee's 5th district

Congresses Served

House Terms

January 1, 1817 (94 years old)

Birthday

January 1, 1911

Death

Attended schools in Fayetteville and Bingham’s School in Hillsboro, North Carolina.
Graduated from Nashville University in 1839 and from the law department of Transylvania University in 1841.
Began his law practice in Fayetteville after being admitted to the bar in 1841.
Served in the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1847 and 1848.
Introduced and passed a bill for the construction of the Tennessee Asylum for the Insane while in the state legislature.
Held the position of Inspector General of Tennessee during the Civil War, serving on the staff of Governor Isham G. Harris from 1861 to 1865.
Elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat, serving from March 4, 1871, to March 3, 1881.
Represented Tennessee’s 4th congressional district initially and then the 5th district after re-districting.
Served as chairman of the Committee on Claims and the Committee on Expenditures in the Department of the Treasury.
Was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1880.
Resumed his law practice in Fayetteville after leaving politics.
Died in Fayetteville at the age of 94.
Married three times and had a total of thirteen children.