Wesley Ernest Disney

Wesley Ernest Disney (October 31, 1883 – March 26, 1961) was an American lawyer and Democratic politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Oklahoma from 1931 to 1945 and was earlier a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. He was born in Richland, Kansas, the son of Wesley and Elizabeth Matney Disney, and was educated in the public schools of Kansas. His early years in Kansas laid the foundation for a legal and political career that would later span both state and national office.

Disney pursued higher education in law and graduated from the law department of the University of Kansas at Lawrence in 1906. That same year he was admitted to the Kansas bar, beginning his professional life as an attorney. Seeking broader opportunities in the developing Southwest, he was admitted to the Oklahoma bar in 1908 and moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he commenced the practice of law. On September 22, 1910, he married Anna Van Sant; the couple had two sons, establishing a family life in Muskogee alongside his growing legal practice.

Disney quickly became active in public affairs in his adopted state. He served as county attorney of Muskogee County, Oklahoma, from 1911 to 1915, a role in which he gained experience in public prosecution and local government. Building on this experience, he was elected to the Oklahoma House of Representatives, serving from 1919 to 1924. During his tenure in the state legislature, he played a prominent role in one of Oklahoma’s most significant political crises of the era, serving as chairman of the board of managers in the 1923 impeachment trial of Governor Jack C. Walton. His work in the state house and his leadership in the impeachment proceedings enhanced his reputation as a careful and engaged legislator.

Elected as a Democrat to the Seventy-second Congress and to the six succeeding Congresses, Disney served in the U.S. House of Representatives from March 4, 1931, to January 3, 1945, representing Oklahoma during a period that encompassed the Great Depression, the New Deal, and the early years of World War II. Over seven consecutive terms, he contributed to the legislative process and participated in the democratic governance of the nation while representing the interests of his Oklahoma constituents. During his congressional service, he served on the Banking and Currency Committee and later on the powerful Ways and Means Committee. His close attention to fiscal matters and federal expenditures earned him the reputation of being a “watchdog of the Treasury,” reflecting his role in scrutinizing financial legislation and federal spending during a time of expansive federal programs and wartime mobilization.

Disney chose not to be a candidate for renomination to the House in 1944. Instead, he sought higher office and became a candidate for the Democratic nomination for United States Senator from Oklahoma. He was unsuccessful in that bid, ending his congressional career at the conclusion of his seventh term in January 1945. Nonetheless, his fourteen years in Congress left a record of sustained involvement in national fiscal and economic policy during a transformative era in American history.

After leaving Congress, Disney returned to the practice of law and remained professionally active for many years. He practiced law in both Washington, D.C., and Tulsa, Oklahoma, and developed a successful career as a lobbyist, drawing on his extensive legislative experience and knowledge of federal policy. His family also maintained a connection to federal service; his brother, Richard L. Disney, was appointed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a judge of the United States Tax Court, underscoring the family’s broader involvement in national legal and governmental affairs.

Wesley Ernest Disney died in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 1961, at the age of 77. He was interred at Memorial Park Cemetery in Tulsa, Oklahoma, reflecting his long association with the state he had served both in its legislature and in the U.S. Congress.