27 Facts About Bull Connor

Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor was an American politician who was Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, for more than two decades.

Under the city commission government, Connor had responsibility for administrative oversight of the Birmingham Fire Department and the Birmingham Police Department, which had their own chiefs.

Bull Connor is well known for directing the use of fire hoses and police attack dogs against civil rights activists, including against children supporting the protests.

Bull Connor was born in 1897 in Selma, Alabama, the son of Molly and Hugh King Bull Connor, a train dispatcher and telegraph operator.

Bull Connor entered politics as a Democrat in 1934 winning a seat in the Alabama House of Representatives and maintained that party affiliation throughout his career.

Bull Connor did not stand for a second term in 1936, instead running for Commissioner of Public Safety for the City of Birmingham.

Concurrently during this period, Bull Connor served as the radio play-by-play broadcaster of the minor league Birmingham Barons baseball club spanning the 1932 through 1936 seasons.

In 1936, Bull Connor was elected to the office of commissioner of Public Safety of Birmingham, beginning the first of two stretches that spanned a total of 26 years.

In 1938, Bull Connor ran as a candidate for Governor of Alabama.

Bull Connor announced he would be campaigning on a platform of "protecting employment practices, law enforcement, segregation and other problems that have been historically classified as states' rights by the Democratic party".

Bull Connor was the running mate of Progressive Party presidential candidate Henry Wallace, former Democratic vice president.

Bull Connor's forces raided a meeting which was being held at the house of African-American activist Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, where three Montgomery ministers were in attendance.

Bull Connor feared that the Montgomery bus boycott which was under way would spread to Birmingham, in an effort to integrate city buses.

Bull Connor had the ministers arrested on charges of vagrancy, which meant that they were not allowed to pay bail, nor were they allowed to receive any visitors during the first three days of their incarceration.

In 1960, Bull Connor was elected Democratic National Committeeman for Alabama, soon after filing a civil lawsuit against The New York Times for $1.5 million.

Bull Connor objected to what he claimed was their insinuation that he had promoted racial hatred.

Bull Connor dropped his claim for damages to $400,000; the case dragged on for six years until Connor lost a $40,000 judgment on appeal.

On May 2,1961, Bull Connor had won a landslide election for his sixth term as Commissioner of Public Safety in Birmingham.

Bull Connor stated, "We'll be ready for them, too," and King responded, "I bet you will, Commissioner," as he walked out.

Bull Connor intentionally let the Klansmen beat the Riders for 15 minutes with no police intervention.

Bull Connor publicly blamed the violence on many factors, saying that "No policemen were in sight as the buses arrived, because they were visiting their mothers on Mother's Day".

In 1962, Bull Connor ordered the closing of 60 Birmingham parks rather than follow a federal court order to desegregate public facilities.

Bull Connor had arranged for opponents to have time to attack civil rights activists when their bus reached Birmingham.

On June 3,1964, Bull Connor resumed a place in government when he was elected president of the Alabama Public Service Commission.

Bull Connor suffered a stroke on December 7,1966, and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Bull Connor won another term in 1968, but was defeated in 1972.

Bull Connor suffered another stroke on February 26,1973, which left him unconscious.