J. Mark Wilcox

Who was J. Mark Wilcox?

James Mark Wilcox was a U.S. Representative from Florida.

Wilcox was born in Willacoochee, Georgia, the second son of Dr. Jefferson Taylor Wilcox and his wife Marian Henson Wilcox. He attended public schools and Emory University. After graduation from Emory, he worked as a teacher before attending law school at Mercer University. He graduated from Mercer in 1910 and was admitted to the bar the same year; he commenced practice in Hazlehurst, Georgia.

Wilcox served as the solicitor of Jeff Davis County, Georgia from 1911-18. Thereafter, in 1919 he moved to Brunswick, Georgia, then in 1925 to West Palm Beach, Florida, continuing the practice of law. He served as city attorney of West Palm Beach from 1928-33 and as a member of the taxation committee of President Herbert Hoover's Conference on Home Ownership in 1931.

Elected to Congress in 1933, he authored HR Bill 3151 in 1937 which recommended separating the Air Corps from the Army and making it an independent service. He also authored the Wilcox Municipal Bankruptcy Act which became law in 1934; it allowed West Palm Beach to adjust its bonded indebtedness and avoid bankruptcy. It was later invoked to help New York City avoid bankruptcy in 1972.