Joseph W. Byrns, Jr.

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Joseph Wellington Byrns, Jr. (August 15, 1903 – March 8, 1973) was an attorney and one-term Member of Congress from Tennessee. He was the son of former House Speaker Jo Byrns and Julia Woodard.

Byrns was born in Davidson County, Tennessee. He completed his schooling at the Emerson Institute in Washington, D.C. in 1923 while his father was serving in Congress. In 1928 he graduated from the Vanderbilt University Law School, and was admitted to the bar the same year. From 1930 to 1938 he was a member of the reserve component of the former Army Air Corps, where he became a captain.

In 1938 he won the Democratic nomination for his father's old House seat and won election to that office in November of that year. He served that one term and won the Democratic nomination for a second one in 1940. Byrns vote for an amendment that would have postponed the operation of Selective Service by 60 days helped to inspire opposition from an independent candidate named Percy Priest, who was a member of the editorial staff of the Nashville Tennessean. Priest defeated Byrns by a 50-43 margin (24565 votes to 20933 votes, with 3459 votes going to the Republican nominee). After his defeat, Byrns resumed the practice of law.

Byrns was first married to Cornelia Park in 1929 but the marriage ended in divorce. It is said that Cornelia liked being Mrs. Joseph W. Byrns, Jr., and for the rest of her life refused to acknowledge the divorce.

Byrns later enjoyed a happy marriage to Mrs. Lillie (Warmack) Adams of Goodlettsville, Tennessee.

Although Byrns achieved some stature during his life, he was always overshadowed by the successes and popularity of his father.

Byrns served on active duty in the United States Army during World War II, from June 23, 1942 until August 17, 1945, almost all of this time in the European Theater of Operations. Afterwards, he retired to Florida. He died in Daytona Beach and afterwards was interred in Mount Olivet Cemetery in Nashville.