22 Facts About Lawrence Tyson

Lawrence Davis Tyson was an American brigadier general, politician, lawyer and textile manufacturer, who operated primarily out of Knoxville, Tennessee during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Lawrence Tyson helped organize the Knoxville Cotton Mills in the early 20th century and served as president of the second Appalachian Exposition in 1911.

From 1902 to 1908, Lawrence Tyson served in the Tennessee House of Representatives, and was Speaker of the Tennessee House from 1903 to 1905.

Lawrence Tyson later took part in the Apache Wars against a Geronimo-led faction of Apaches in the West.

In 1886, Lawrence Tyson married Bettie Humes McGhee, the daughter of wealthy Knoxville railroad baron Charles McClung McGhee.

The son, military aviator Charles McGhee Lawrence Tyson, died on October 11,1917 in the north Atlantic ocean aged 29.

Lawrence Tyson's parents were McGhee Tyson and Catherine Gilpin, born to a wealthy New Jersey family.

Lawrence Tyson is a great-grandfather of actor Jack Gilpin and a great-great-grandfather of Jack's daughter, actress Betty Gilpin.

Lawrence Tyson enrolled in the university's law school, from which he graduated in 1894.

At one point, Lawrence Tyson worked for the law firm of Edward Terry Sanford, future Supreme Court justice.

Lawrence Tyson organized the Knoxville Cotton Mills, which would grow to become one of Knoxville's major textile companies in the early 20th century.

From 1903 to 1905, Lawrence Tyson served as the elected Speaker of the House.

The brigade received nine Medals of Honor, the most of any single brigade of the US Army during World War I, while Lawrence Tyson himself was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal.

Lawrence Tyson rendered services of great worth to the American Expeditionary Forces.

Lawrence Tyson located his son's body, and shipped it back to Knoxville for burial.

In 1920, Lawrence Tyson made an unsuccessful effort to gain the vice presidential nomination at the Democratic National Convention.

Lawrence Tyson defeated Republican candidate, Hugh B Lindsay, in the general election later that year.

Lawrence Tyson was sworn in as a Senator on March 4,1925.

In 1926, Lawrence Tyson sponsored legislation authorizing the creation of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

Lawrence Tyson died, at the age of 68, in 1929 at a sanitarium in Strafford, Pennsylvania.

Lawrence Tyson is buried in Old Gray Cemetery in Knoxville.

McGhee Lawrence Tyson Airport has since been moved to Blount County.