SC Governors – James Strom Thurmond, 1947-1951

South Carolina SC History SC Governors Governor James Strom Thurmond

Biographical Overview Born: December 5, 1902 in Edgefield, South Carolina Died: June 26, 2003 in Edgefield, South Carolina Buried: Interment at Willowbrook Cemetery in Edgefield Religion: Baptist Political Party: Thurmond served as governor while a member of the Democratic Party but became a Republican in 1964	James Strom Thurmond
Education Clemson College (now Clemson University) - B.S. 1923 Thurmond also holds degrees from Bob Jones University, Clemson University, Trinity College, and The Citadel
Occupations Lawyer Teacher Lieutenant Colonel, US Army - 1942-1946

Major Events and Accomplishments, 1947–1951

• February 16, 1947 – Willie Earle was murdered by a mob in Pickens County in the state's last lynching
  
• July 12, 1947 – A Charleston judge ruled in Elmore v. Rice that blacks must be allowed to participate in Democratic primaries
  
• 1948 – Construction on the eighteen-story Cornell Arms apartment building in Columbia, the state's first "skyscraper," was completed
  
• November 2, 1948 – Thurmond ran for president of the United States as a States Rights candidate, receiving 39 electoral votes and carrying Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina
  
• April 15, 1949 – The South Carolina Constitution was amended to legalize divorce
  
• 1950 – Governor Thurmond served as Chairman of Southern Governor's Conference
  
• 1950 – Governor Thurmond ran unsuccessfully against Olin D. Johnston for a seat in the US Senate
  
• November 28, 1950 – The US Atomic Energy Commission announced that the Savannah River Plant would be built on a 250,000-acre site in Aiken, Barnwell, and Allendale counties
  

Other Government Positions Edgefield County Superintendent of Education, 1929-1933 South Carolina Senate, 1933-1938 US Senate, 1954-2003

Strom Thurmond Monument in Edgefeld © Steven Faucette (2012)

Other Accomplishments, Honors, Distinctions While in the US Army during World War II Thurmond served in both Europe and the Pacific - 1942-1945 Thurmond has received many military honors including the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the Bronze Arrowhead, the Legion of Merit, and several others Thurmond was the first US Senator to be elected by write-in vote - 1954 Thurmond is the author of The Faith We Have Not Kept Thurmond received the USO's "Spirit of Hope" award - 1998 The Strom Thurmond Federal Building in Columbia, SC and Strom Thurmond High School in Edgefield County, SC were both named for Thurmond

Web Resources

• Biographical information - US Congress
  
• Biographical sketch - Clemson University
  
• Listing of records available at SC Archives and History Center
  

Election Results