1. Standish Fletcher Thompson was an American lawyer, World War II veteran and Republican politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1967 to 1973 from the 5th Congressional District of Georgia.
12 Facts About Fletcher Thompson
1. 2.
Fletcher Thompson graduated from Russell High School in East Point, Georgia.
3.
Fletcher Thompson completed Basic Training with the 90th Infantry Division before he was transferred to the Aviation Cadet Training Program in Wichita Falls, Texas.
4.
On returning from South Korea, Fletcher Thompson graduated in 1957 from the now-closed Woodrow Wilson College of Law in Atlanta.
5.
Fletcher Thompson was one of only four Republican members of the upper chamber of the legislature at the time.
6.
Fletcher Thompson was selected by the Democratic majority to represent Fulton County in the drafting and sponsorship of the Metropolitan Rapid Transit Authority Act.
7.
Two years later, Fletcher Thompson ran for Congress, becoming the first Republican since the Reconstruction era to represent Atlanta and the 5th Congressional District in the United States House.
8.
Fletcher Thompson prevailed, 55,423 to Lindsey's 36,751.
9.
Fletcher Thompson voted for the initial House Resolution of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 but voted against the final Senate amendments to the Act.
10.
Fletcher Thompson was re-elected in 1968 and 1970, when he defeated Andrew Young, who after the next election in 1972 in a revised district succeeded Fletcher Thompson in the Fifth District.
11.
In 1968, Fletcher Thompson was the only Southern congressman to attend Martin Luther King's funeral, and he faced backlash from his constituents as a result.
12.
Fletcher Thompson lost to Nunn, 362,501 votes to 404,890.