Charles W. Lyon

Charles Wesley Lyon (September 13, 1887 – July 20, 1960) was an American attorney from California who served as a Republican in the California State Assembly and the California State Senate. Lyon was Assembly Speaker from 1943 to 1946. Lyon was admitted to the bar in 1910 and was first elected to the Assembly in 1914. Lyon served numerous terms in the Senate and Assembly and authored the legislation creating the UCLA campus.

Early life and career; fraternal activities Lyon was born in Los Angeles on September 13, 1887. He was the eighth of nine children of James H. and Laura Emma (Simpson) Lyon, who had moved to California from Maine. The family was distantly related to John Alden and to Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. James Lyon was a carpenter foreman and architect.

At age 21, Lyon was elected president of Los Angeles Parlor No. 45 of the Native Sons of the Golden West. Lyon became state president of the California State Aerie of the Fraternal Order of Eagles, which then had over thirty thousand members in California. In 1919, he was elected exalted ruler for 1919–20 of Santa Monica Elks Lodge.

Political career In 1914, Lyon became City Attorney of Venice, California, where he and his family were living as of 1921. Later that year, Lyon was elected to the California State Assembly as a Republican, and was reelected in 1916. While in the Assembly, he opposed the Populist reforms being enacted at that time. In 1918, he ran for the State Senate, and was elected. He remained in the Senate until defeated for re-election in 1930. Heinlein's political short story, "A Bathroom of Her Own" is based on Heinlein's own political experiences in the race against Lyon.

In 1939, Lyon became Assembly minority leader. The following year, during the special session, Republicans and conservative Democrats formed a ruling coalition, and Lyon became Chairman of the Rules Committee. The Republicans won a majority in the Assembly in 1942, and Lyon was elected Speaker the following year, a post he held for two terms. In 1946, Lyon ran unsuccessfully for the position of Lieutenant Governor of California. In 1950, he recaptured a seat in the Assembly, and was reelected in 1952.

Scandal and later life Lyon's political career ended in scandal when, in 1954, he was convicted in connection with a liquor license bribery scheme in Southern California. Lyon was convicted of grand theft and conspiracy to commit grand theft. In 1958, he was pardoned by Governor Goodwin Knight. He spent his final years as a lobbyist for the Southern California Merchants Association.

Lyon is buried at Inglewood Park Cemetery.