Biography/History:

After Sykes graduated from the University of Mississippi in 1897, he began a law practice in Aberdeen with E. H. Bristow. He later moved to Rosedale, and formed a law partnership with Charles Scott. Sykes married Malvina May Scott, daughter of Charles Scott, on November 17, 1903; and they had three children, Charles Scott, Octavia, and Malvina Yerger Sykes. He later returned to Aberdeen to form a successful law partnership with his brother, John Allen Sykes.

Sykes served as a Democratic presidential elector for Mississippi in 1904. In 1916 Governor Theodore G. Bilbo appointed him to fill a vacancy on the Mississippi Supreme Court. The following November he was elected to a term on the court. Sykes retired from the bench in 1924, resumed his law practice, and served on the executive committee of the Mississippi Democratic Party.

President Calvin Coolidge appointed Sykes chairman of the Federal Radio Commission in March 1927. He was reappointed to the commission by President Herbert Hoover in 1930 and by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1933. Sykes became the first chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, when it was established in 1934. He served as chairman of the commission until March 11, 1935. However, he continued to serve on the commission until his resignation on April 6, 1939.

Sykes represented the United States at the North American Radio Conference in Ottawa, Canada, in 1929. President Hoover appointed Sykes chairman of the American delegation to the Second International Radio Conference in Madrid, Spain, in 1932. It was at the Madrid conference that Sykes was able to persuade delegates to designate English, as well as French, as the official languages of the conference. During 1933 President Roosevelt appointed Sykes chairman of the United States delegation to the North and Central America Regional Radio Conference held in Mexico City, Mexico.

After resigning from the Federal Communications Commission in 1939, Sykes joined the law firm of Spearman, Sykes, and Roberson in Washington, D.C. He died of a heart attack on June 21, 1945.

Scope and Content:

Series Identification and Description

1. Correspondence (Incoming). 1932-1934; 1939. (11 items)

   This series contains the incoming correspondence of Eugene Octave Sykes. Included are letters pertaining to his involvement with the International Radio Conference which was held in Madrid, Spain, in 1932; a memorandum, dated September 30, 1933, which was sent to Sykes from Federal Radio Commission chief engineer C. B. Jolliffe, discussing developments in radio; and a letter dated May 11, 1939, from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, concerning Sykes's admission to practice law before the court. Arranged chronologically.

   Box 1, folder 1

2. Speeches. 1934; 1936-1937. (3 items)

   This series contains speeches of Eugene Octave Sykes pertaining to Federal Communications Commission policies, rules, and regulations. Included is a speech Sykes delivered on November 15, 1934, at the Forty-sixth Annual Convention of the National Association of Railroad and Utilities Commissioners at the Willard Hotel in Washington, D.C. Arranged chronologically.

   Box 1, folder 2

3. Radio-Program Scripts. 1927-1929; 1933-1934; 1936-1937; n.d. (34 items)

   This series contains radio-program scripts of Eugene Octave Sykes that were broadcast over stations owned by the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), the National Broadcasting Company (NBC), and other local stations. The majority of the scripts concern policies, rules, and regulations of the Federal Radio Commission and the Federal Communications Commission. Arranged chronologically.

   Box 1, folder 3 (dated scripts)
   Box 1, folder 4 (undated scripts)

4. Press Releases. 1937; 1939. (2 items)

   This series contains two press releases. The first, dated August 1, 1937, pertains to Sykes's address welcoming ten new radio stations which joined the Blue Network of the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). The second, dated March 28, 1939, pertains to the Federal Communications Commission's tribute to Sykes in recognition of his service to the organization. Arranged chronologically.

   Box 1, folder 5

5. Newspaper Clippings. 1933. (4 items)

   This series contains newspaper clippings of articles pertaining to Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd's second Antarctic expedition in 1933. Arranged chronologically.

   Box 1, folder 6