Dayton E. Phillips (March 29, 1910 – October 23, 1980) was an American politician and a member of the United States House of Representatives for the 1st congressional district of Tennessee.

Born, Dayton Edward Phillips, on March 29, 1910, at Shell Creek, Tennessee in Carter County, he grew up on a farm, attended the country school, and went to Cloudland High School in Roan Mountain, Tennessee.

He attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville and graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1934.

Phillips was admitted to the bar in 1935 and commenced practice in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and graduated from National University Law School in Washington, D.C., with a J.D.

During World War II, he served as an enlisted man in the United States Army, with overseas service in the European Theater of Operations, from 1943 to 1945.