39 Facts About Herman Talmadge

Herman Eugene Talmadge was an American politician who served as governor of Georgia in 1947 and from 1948 to 1955 and as a US Senator from Georgia from 1957 to 1981.

Herman Talmadge began his career as a staunch segregationist and was known for his opposition to civil rights, ordering schools to be closed rather than desegregated.

When his father, Eugene Talmadge, won the 1946 Georgia gubernatorial election but died before taking office, Herman Talmadge asserted claims to be the 70th governor of Georgia, in what is known as the three governors controversy.

Herman Talmadge was re-elected to a full term in 1950 by defeating Thompson again in a closer race.

Herman Talmadge, who became governor as a political novice at just age 33, supported the passage of a statewide sales tax and the construction of new schools.

Herman Talmadge was later denounced by the Senate for financial irregularities revealed during a bitter divorce from his second wife; this, along with Georgia's changing demographics, led to his defeat by Republican Mack Mattingly in his 1980 re-election campaign.

Herman Talmadge was born on August 9,1913, on a farm near the small town of McRae in Telfair County in the southeastern part of Georgia.

Herman Talmadge was the only son of Eugene Talmadge and his wife, Mattie and through his mother, he was a second cousin of South Carolina Senator and 1948 Dixiecrat Presidential Candidate Strom Thurmond.

Herman Talmadge attended public schools in Telfair County until his senior year of high school when his family moved to Atlanta and he enrolled at Druid Hills High School, graduating in 1931.

Herman Talmadge received his law degree in 1936 and joined his father's law practice.

When World War II broke out, Herman Talmadge volunteered to serve in the United States Navy.

Herman Talmadge served as an ensign with the Sixth Naval District at Charleston, SC and with the Third Naval District in New York after graduating from midshipman's school at Northwestern University.

Herman Talmadge participated in the battle of Okinawa and he was present in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender.

Herman Talmadge attained rank of lieutenant commander and was discharged in November 1945.

Herman Talmadge ran his father's successful 1946 campaign for governor.

Eugene Herman Talmadge had been ill, and his supporters were worried about his surviving long enough to be sworn in.

In December 1946, the elder Herman Talmadge died before taking office.

Herman Talmadge prepared to run for the special gubernatorial election in 1948, and defeated incumbent Governor Thompson.

Two years later, Herman Talmadge was elected to a full term in the 1950 election.

Herman Talmadge remained a staunch supporter of racial segregation, even as the Civil rights movement gained momentum in the postwar years.

Herman Talmadge was barred by law from seeking another full term as governor in 1954.

Herman Talmadge was elected to the United States Senate in 1956.

Herman Talmadge worked to expand support for both farmers and children and families in hunger through his work on the passage Child Nutrition Act of 1966, but most significantly in 1969 and 1970 as part of the re-authorization and expansion of the 1946 School Lunch Act which Russell had authored and considered to be his greatest legislative achievement.

Herman Talmadge was a great admirer of the work Russell had done on the 1946 act but recognized that significant improvements were needed.

Allen Ellender of Louisiana assumed chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee following Richard Russell's death in January 1971, Herman Talmadge became chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee, a position he held until leaving office in 1981.

In 1968, Herman Talmadge faced the first of his three Republican challengers for his Senate seat.

Herman Talmadge was a sign of the shifting white electorate in the South, where white suburbanites moved into the Republican Party.

Herman Talmadge ran a disciplined office, requiring his staff to respond to every constituent letter within 24 hours of receipt.

In 1969, Herman Talmadge hired Curtis Lee Atkinson onto his senate staff as an administrative aide, making Atkinson the first African-American hired to work on a Southern senator's personal staff since the Reconstruction Era.

In early 1973, Herman Talmadge was appointed to the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities which investigated the activities of members of the Nixon administration.

Herman Talmadge served on the committee until its final report was issued in June 1974.

Late in his Senate career, Herman Talmadge became embroiled in a financial scandal.

Herman Talmadge was found to have accepted reimbursements of $43,435.83 for official expenses not incurred, and to have improperly reported the "expenses" as campaign expenditures.

Herman Talmadge filed for divorce from his wife, Betty, in 1977 following a long period of personal troubles for Herman Talmadge, including self-admitted alcoholism, which spiraled out of control after his son, Bobby, drowned in 1975.

Herman Talmadge was allowed to use the remaining 1,200 acres on the plantation.

Herman Talmadge's wife testified against him in 1980 during the investigation into his finances, resulting in a denunciation from the US Senate, which contributed to the end of his long political career.

Herman Talmadge lived on for more than two decades, dying at the age of 88.

Betty Herman Talmadge died in 2005, surrounded by family, on her estate.

At the time of his death, Herman Talmadge was the earliest serving former governor.