John Humphrey Small (August 29, 1858 – July 13, 1946) was an American attorney and politician who served eleven terms as a U.S. Representative from North Carolina from 1899 to 1921.
Small started a legal practice in his hometown of Washington, North Carolina. Small was elected a reading clerk of the North Carolina State Senate in 1881, the year he was admitted to the bar. That year he was also appointed as superintendent of public instruction of Beaufort County.
He was elected as solicitor of the inferior court of Beaufort County 1882–1885. At the time, he also became editor of the Washington Gazette, serving from 1883 to 1886. He was appointed as attorney of the Board of Commissioners of Beaufort County, serving from 1888 to 1896.
At the same time, Small was elected as a member of the Washington city council 1887–1890. He served as mayor of Washington in 1889 and 1890 (the position rotated among the city council members).
Active in the Democratic Party, Small served as delegate to all Democratic State conventions from 1889 to 1920.
He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1920 and retired from political office. Staying in Washington, D.C., he revived his legal practice there until 1931.
Retirement and death
Small returned to Washington, where he died on July 13, 1946. He was interred in Oakdale Cemetery.
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