Thomas Nelms DOWNING, Congress, VA (1919-2001)
DOWNING, Thomas Nelms, a Representative from Virginia; born in Newport News, York County, Va., February 1, 1919; attended Newport News High School, Newport News, Va.; graduated from Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Va., 1940; graduated from the University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Va, 1948; lawyer, private practice; United States Army, 1942-1946; substitute judge of the municipal court of Warwick, Va.; elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-sixth and to the eight succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1959-January 3, 1977); chairman, Select Committee on Assassinations (Ninety-fourth Congress); was not a candidate for reelection to the Ninety-fifth Congress in 1976; died on October 23, 2001, in Newport News, Va.; interment in Peninsula Memorial Park Cemetery, Newport News, Va.