Peyton McKnight

Full Name: Charles Peyton McKnight, Jr.
Date of birth: December 10, 1924
Date of death: December 22, 1995

Terms of Service
Biographical Notes
Committee Information
Legislation

Terms of Service top

Chamber	District	Dates of Service	Legislatures	Party	City/County	Note	Counties in District
S	2	Jan 9, 1979 - Jan 11, 1983	66th 67th	Democrat	Tyler / Smith		Collin, Gregg, Hunt, Rains, Rockwall, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, Wood
S	2	Jan 14, 1975 - Jan 9, 1979	65th ⁽¹⁾ 64th ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ 65th ⁽¹⁾	Democrat	Flint / Smith	Senate President Pro Tempore (65th)	Collin, Gregg, Hunt, Rains, Rockwall, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, Wood
S	2	Jan 9, 1973 - Jan 14, 1975	63rd ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾	Democrat	Flint / Smith		Collin, Gregg, Hunt, Rains, Rockwall, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, Wood
H	34	Jan 11, 1949 - Jan 9, 1951	51st	Democrat	Quitman / Wood		Wood

(1) 65th Legislature - Senate President Pro Tempore, 1st C.S., elected 7/11/1977; Ad Interim Principalis, 1st C.S., elected 7/21/1977. Senate Journal.
(2) 63rd, 64th, and 65th Legislatures - Roster at beginning of session lists Tyler. Senate Journal.
(3) Residence address in Flint, Texas. The Senators of Texas, 64th Session, 1975.
(4) Residence address in Flint, Texas. Senate Biographies, 63rd Legislature, 1973.
(5) 63rd Legislature - Drawing for Terms of Office, 1/10/1973, pp. 12-13. Drew 2-year term. Senate Journal.

Terms of Service top

Senate District 2
Jan 9, 1979 - Jan 11, 1983
Legislatures: 66th 67th
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Tyler / Smith
Counties in district: Collin, Gregg, Hunt, Rains, Rockwall, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, Wood

Senate District 2
Jan 14, 1975 - Jan 9, 1979
Legislatures: 65th ⁽¹⁾ 64th ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾ 65th ⁽¹⁾
Senate President Pro Tempore (65th)
(65th)
(65th)
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Flint / Smith
Counties in district: Collin, Gregg, Hunt, Rains, Rockwall, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, Wood

Senate District 2
Jan 9, 1973 - Jan 14, 1975
Legislatures: 63rd ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Flint / Smith
Counties in district: Collin, Gregg, Hunt, Rains, Rockwall, Smith, Upshur, Van Zandt, Wood

House District 34
Jan 11, 1949 - Jan 9, 1951
Legislatures: 51st
Party: Democrat
Home City/County: Quitman / Wood
Counties in district: Wood

Biographical Information top

Selected newspaper articles

Resolutions and Journal entries

63rd Legislature, R.S., SR 236 and SR 890. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary
67th Legislature, R.S., SR 852. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.
68th Legislature, R.S., HCR 153. Resolutions - Congratulatory and Honorary.

Biographical Sketches

Biographical sketch and photo. Senate Biographies, 63rd Legislature, 1973.
Biographical sketch and photo. The Senators of Texas, 64th Session, 1975.
Biographical sketch and photo. Texas Senate, 66th Legislature, 1979.
Biographical sketch and photo. Texas Senate, 67th Legislature, 1981.
McKnight, Charles Peyton. Texas State Cemetery.

Military Service Notes

United States Army Air Force, World War II. "Raised in the small East Texas towns of Alba and Quitman, McKnight flew fifty-five combat missions over Europe in World War II on B-17s, while serving with the Fifteenth Air Force Command. His 17th Bomber Group awarded him the French Croix de Guerre. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with Three Oak Leaf Clusters, and the European Theater Ribbon with Seven Battle Stars." Texas State Cemetery.
United States Army Air Force. Photo and salute. With Honor and Gratitude: A Special Thank You to Our Texas Senate Members Who Served Our Country, 2017.

Other Resources

Delegate to the Texas Constitutional Convention, 1974. Record of Proceedings, Texas Constitutional Convention: Official Journals, January 8 - July 30, 1974, 1975.

Texas Monthly's Best and Worst Legislators

Named 'Honorable Mention'. Best and Worst Legislators 1981.
Named 'Dishonorable Mention'. Best and Worst Legislators 1979.

Photographs

Photograph. Peyton McKnight, 67th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Peyton McKnight, 66th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Peyton McKnight, 65th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Peyton McKnight, 64th Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Peyton McKnight, 63rd Legislature, State Preservation Board
Photograph. Peyton McKnight, 51st Legislature, State Preservation Board

Composite Photographs on Display in the Capitol

63rd session composite photo of Senate members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GE.C1). State Preservation Board.
64th session composite photo of Senate members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GE.C1). State Preservation Board.
65th session composite photo of Senate members (Ground floor corridor, west wall. GE.L1). State Preservation Board.
66th session composite photo of Senate members (Ground floor corridor, west wall. GE.L1). State Preservation Board.
67th session composite photo of Senate members (Ground floor corridor, west wall. GE.L1). State Preservation Board.
51st session composite photo of House members (Ground floor corridor, south wall. GW.C1). State Preservation Board.

Committee Information top

67th R.S. - 1981 Congressional and Legislative Redistricting, Oversight Economic Development (Vice Chair) Finance Redistricting, Subcommittee of the Committee of the Whole Senate, Special Redistricting, Subcommittee of the Committee of the Whole Senate, Special Congressional Panel (Chair) State Affairs State Affairs Subcommittee on Nominations (Chair)
66th R.S. - 1979 Economic Development Finance State Affairs State Affairs Subcommittee on Nominations (Chair)
65th R.S. - 1977 Economic Development Natural Resources Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy (Chair) Replacement of Ad Valorem Taxes (Chair) State Affairs State Affairs Subcommittee on Elections State Affairs Subcommittee on Nominations (Chair) State Artist Selection, Special
64th R.S. - 1975 Economic Development Government Operations (Little Hoover Commission) Government Operations (Little Hoover Commission) Subcommittee on Economic Development and Law Enforcement Natural Resources (Vice Chair) Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy (Chair) State Affairs State Affairs Subcommittee on Elections State Affairs Subcommittee on Nominations
63rd R.S. - 1973 Jurisprudence Natural Resources (Vice Chair) Small Business, Interim State Affairs
51st R.S. - 1949 Agriculture Congressional and Legislative Districts Military and Veteran's Affairs Public Lands and Buildings State Eleemosynary and Reformatory Institutions

This website is a work in progress. Information on this website is provided as a public service by the Legislative Reference Library. The Legislative Reference Library makes no representation as to its completeness or accuracy and makes no warranty in regard to its use. Users assume all risk of reliance on the information included on this site.

Party information is not available for the 1st-11th Legislatures.

Have a question, comment or contribution? Email the Library or call 512-463-1252.

Many photos in Texas Legislators: Past and Present are used with permission of the Texas State Preservation Board. For permission to reproduce these photos, please contact the Texas State Preservation Board graphics coordinator at 512-475-3060.