Thomas M. Eaton

Thomas Marion Eaton (August 3, 1896 – September 16, 1939) was an American businessman and World War I veteran who served nine months as a U.S. representative from California in 1939.

Biography Born on a farm near Edwardsville, Illinois, Eaton attended the public schools. He graduated from the State Normal School (now Illinois State University) in Normal in 1917. He served as principal of a grade school in Clinton, Illinois, in 1917 and 1918.

World War I During the First World War served in the United States Navy as an ensign.

Auto business He moved to Long Beach, California, in 1921 and engaged in the automobile sales business.

Local politics Eaton was elected to the Long Beach City Council in 1934. He was reelected in 1936, and was unanimously chosen mayor by the council.

Congress Eaton was elected as a Republican to the Seventy-sixth Congress and served from January 3, 1939, until his death in Long Beach, California, September 16, 1939.

Eaton's seat remained vacant until his elected successor, William Ward Johnson, took office in January 1941.

Electoral history