Malcolm R. Patterson
Malcolm Rice Patterson (June 7, 1861 - March 8, 1935) was Governor of Tennessee from 1907 to 1911.
A native of Alabama, his father was a Confederate cavalry officer. An attorney, he had previously served as a member of Congress prior to being the Democratic nominee for governor in 1906. He used the State Guard to supress a "Night Rider" movement which had broken out over disputed fishing rights to Reelfoot Lake in West Tennessee. He vetoed the return of statewide Prohibition in 1909; in a rare instance for the era of legislative independence, his veto was overridden. He initially intended to seek a third term in 1910 but there was so much political turmoil, particularly in the Democratic Party, regarding the Prohibition issue, that he withdrew from the race for re-election.
After his term as governor, Patterson changed his position on Prohibition, becoming an outspoken proponent of it. He resumed the practice of law and for the last eleven years of his life served as a Circuit Court judge.
