Deaths on March 21

Herman Talmadge, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 70th Governor of Georgia (b. 1913)

Herman Eugene Talmadge (August 9, 1913 – March 21, 2002) was an American politician who served as governor of Georgia for a short period in 1947 and then again from 1948 until 1955 then as U.S. Senator from Georgia from 1957 to 1981. Talmadge, a Democrat, was governor at a time of political transition in the state, and he served in the Senate during a time of great political change in the nation as well. 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. However, by the later stages of his career Talmadge had modified his earlier views and his life eventually encapsulated the emergence of his native Georgia from entrenched white supremacy into a political culture where white voters regularly elect black Congressmen.When his father, Eugene Talmadge, won the 1946 Georgia Gubernatorial election but died before taking office, Herman Talmadge was one of three competitors asserting claims to be the 70th Governor of Georgia, in what is known as the Three Governors Controversy. Talmadge occupied the governor's office from January until March 1947, before yielding to a court decision in favor of Melvin E. Thompson, the elected lieutenant governor. In 1948 a special election was held to determine who would finish the rest of the term and Herman Talmadge defeated Thompson by over 6% (51.77% vs. 45.14%). Talmadge was re-elected in 1950 to a full term as governor- this time again defeating Thompson in the Democratic Primary in a closer race (49.33% vs. 47.88%). Talmadge would then serve until the end of his term in 1955.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. Talmadge also supported infrastructure improvements and increased teachers' salaries. While he remains a controversial figure in Georgia history, especially due to his opposition to civil rights, some Georgians praised him for his infrastructure improvements brought about by the passage of the sales tax.In the senate, Talmadge first rose to prominence as chairman of the Senate Agriculture Committee and later as a member of the Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities (better known as the United States Senate Watergate Committee). As chairman of the Agriculture Committee, Talmadge oversaw the passing of several major pieces of legislation, including the expansion of the Child Nutrition Act and the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act of 1972, the first major legislation dealing with rural development since the Rural Electrification Act of 1936. Talmadge was later denounced by the Senate for financial irregularities, which were revealed during a bitter divorce from his second wife. The denunciation by the Senate and the changing demographics of Georgia helped lead to Talmadge's defeat in his 1980 re-election campaign against Republican Mack Mattingly- Talmadge's first ever electoral loss.