J. C. W. Beckham

J. C. W. Beckham
Beckham, c. 1915
United States Senator from Kentucky
In office March 4, 1915 – March 3, 1921
Preceded by	Johnson N. Camden Jr.
Succeeded by	Richard P. Ernst
35th Governor of Kentucky
In office February 3, 1900 – December 10, 1907
Lieutenant	William P. Thorne
Preceded by	William Goebel
Succeeded by	Augustus E. Willson
28th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office January 31, 1900 – February 3, 1900
Governor	William Goebel
Preceded by	John Marshall
Succeeded by	William P. Thorne
Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives
In office January 4, 1898 – January 1, 1900
Preceded by	Charles Blandford
Succeeded by	South Trimble
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 39th district
In office February 5, 1896 – January 1, 1900
Preceded by	Isaac Wilson
Succeeded by	Eli H. Brown
In office January 1, 1894 – January 1, 1896
Preceded by	A. L. Harned
Succeeded by	Isaac Wilson
Personal details
Born	John Crepps Wickliffe Beckham (1869-08-05)August 5, 1869 Wickland, Nelson County, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	January 9, 1940(1940-01-09) (aged 70) Louisville, Kentucky
Resting place	Frankfort Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Jean Raphael Fuqua
Children	2
Relatives	Charles A. Wickliffe (grandfather) Robert C. Wickliffe (uncle)
Alma mater	Central University University of Kentucky
Profession	Politician lawyer

John Crepps Wickliffe Beckham (August 5, 1869 – January 9, 1940) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 35th governor of Kentucky and a United States senator from Kentucky. He was the state's first popularly-elected senator after the passage of the Seventeenth Amendment.

Descended from a prominent political family, Beckham was chosen as the running mate of Democratic nominee William Goebel in the 1899 Kentucky gubernatorial election. Although Goebel lost the election to Republican nominee William S. Taylor, the Kentucky General Assembly disputed the election results. During the political wrangling that followed, an unknown assassin shot Goebel. A day later, the General Assembly invalidated enough votes to give the election to Goebel, who was sworn into office on his deathbed. Taylor claimed the election had been stolen by the Democratic majority in the General Assembly, and a legal fight occurred between him and Beckham over the governorship. Beckham ultimately prevailed and Taylor fled the state. Beckham later won a special election to fill the remainder of Goebel's term and then an election in his own right in 1903.

In 1906, during his second term as governor, Beckham made a bid to become a U.S. senator. His favorable stance of prohibition cost him the votes of four legislators in his own party, and in 1908, the General Assembly gave the seat to Republican William O. Bradley. In 1914, Beckham secured the seat by popular election, but lost his re-election bid in 1920, largely due to his pro-temperance views and opposition to women's suffrage. He continued to play an active role in state politics for another two decades, but never returned to elected office, failing both in his 1927 gubernatorial bid and his 1936 senatorial campaign. He died in Louisville in 1940.