David Wyatt Aiken (17 March 1828-6 April 1887) was a member of the US House of Representatives (D-SC 3) from 4 March 1877 to 3 March 1887, succeeding Solomon L. Hoge and preceding James S. Cothran.
Biography[]
David Wyatt Aiken was born in Winnsboro, South Carolina in 1828, and he became a farmer and newspaper editor before serving as colonel of the 7th South Carolina Infantry Regiment during the American Civil War. He was shot through the lungs at the Battle of Antietam, and, while he fought at the Battle of Gettysburg, he was ultimately forced to resign due to his lingering breathing problems. He served in the state house from 1864 to 1866, became a leader of the South Carolina Democratic Party and in efforts to suppress Black voting rights, called for the assassination of Black state legislator Benjamin F. Randolph (leading to his murder in 1868), became a Grange activist during the 1870s, and served in the US House of Representatives from 1877 to 1887. He died in 1887, and his son Wyatt Aiken served in Congress, while his cousin William Aiken Jr. became Governor.