17 Facts About Linwood Holton

Linwood Holton served as the 61st governor of Virginia, from 1970 to 1974, and was the first elected Republican governor of Virginia of the 20th century, as well as the first Republican governor since the Reconstruction era.

Linwood Holton was known for supporting civil rights, integration, and public investment.

Linwood Holton was active in the Republican Party when it barely existed in Virginia.

Linwood Holton was one of the leading Republicans who fought the Byrd Organization during the three decades it dominated Virginia politics.

In 1965, Holton ran for governor as the Republican candidate and was defeated by Democrat Mills E Godwin Jr.

Linwood Holton became the first Republican governor of Virginia since 1869.

In 1970, when desegregation was an issue in Virginia, Linwood Holton voluntarily placed his children, including future First Lady Anne Linwood Holton, in the mostly-black Richmond Public Schools, garnering much publicity.

Linwood Holton was not eligible to run in 1973, as Virginia does not allow governors to serve consecutive terms.

Linwood Holton was the first First Lady of Virginia to live in Virginia's Executive Mansion both as a child and as a First Lady.

In January 2014, Anne Linwood Holton was named Virginia Secretary of Education.

Woody Holton has published three books, including Unruly Americans and the Origins of the Constitution, a finalist for the National Book Award, and Forced Founders: Indians, Debtors, Slaves and the Making of the American Revolution in Virginia.

Dwight Linwood Holton served as acting US Attorney for Oregon from 2010 to 2011.

Linwood Holton later lost to Ellen Rosenblum in the May 2012 primary in the race for Oregon Attorney General.

Linwood Holton was a long-time member of the Governing Council of the University of Virginia's Miller Center of Public Affairs.

Linwood Holton was a CIA intelligence analyst and the daughter of a leading Roanoke Democratic Party figure.

Linwood Holton died of natural causes at his home in Kilmarnock on October 28,2021, at age 98.

Ann Compton noted that when Linwood Holton took office, there were only 31 Republicans among the 141 members of the state legislature.