J. L. Pilcher

J. L. Pilcher
J. L. Pilcher
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; from Georgia's 2nd district
	In office; February 4, 1953 – January 3, 1965
Preceded by	E. Eugene Cox
Succeeded by	Maston E. O'Neal, Jr.
Personal details
Born	John Leonard Pilcher; August 27, 1898; Meigs, Georgia, U.S.
Died	August 20, 1981 (aged 82); Meigs, Georgia, U.S.
Party	Democratic
Occupation	Businessman

John Leonard Pilcher (August 27, 1898 – August 20, 1981) was a U.S. Representative from Georgia.

Born on a farm near Meigs, Georgia, Pilcher attended public schools in the area. He engaged in agricultural pursuits for thirty-five years and operated a general mercantile business, a fertilizer manufacturing plant, a syrup canning plant, several warehouses, and a cotton gin. Pilcher served as mayor and councilman of Meigs, Georgia, and member of the board of education as well as county commissioner. He served as a member of the State House of Representatives. Pilcher served as a member of the State Senate from 1940 to 1944 and was a State purchasing agent in 1948 and 1949. He served as a delegate at each state and national Democratic Convention for thirty years.

Pilcher was elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-third Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the death of E. E. Cox. He was reelected to the Eighty-fourth and the four succeeding Congresses and served from February 4, 1953, to January 3, 1965.

A staunch segregationist, in 1956, Pilcher signed "The Southern Manifesto."

During his Congressional career, Pilcher had a mainly liberal voting record.^[1]

He was not a candidate for renomination in 1964 to the Eighty-ninth Congress. Resided in Meigs, Georgia, where he died August 20, 1981. He was interred in Meigs Sunset Cemetery.