George Wallace

George Corley Wallace (August 25, 1919 – September 13, 1998) was an American politician. He served as Governor of Alabama from 1963 to 1967. He ran for President of the United States three times (1964, 1968, 1976).

George Wallace
Wallace in 1968
45th Governor of Alabama
In office January 17, 1983 – January 19, 1987
Lieutenant	Bill Baxley
Preceded by	Fob James
Succeeded by	H. Guy Hunt
In office January 18, 1971 – January 15, 1979*
Lieutenant	Jere Beasley
Preceded by	Albert Brewer
Succeeded by	Fob James
In office January 14, 1963 – January 16, 1967
Lieutenant	James Allen
Preceded by	John Patterson
Succeeded by	Lurleen Wallace
First Gentleman of Alabama
In role January 16, 1967 – May 7, 1968
Governor	Lurleen Wallace
Preceded by	Lurleen Wallace (First Lady)
Succeeded by	Martha Farmer Brewer (First Lady)
Personal details
Born	George Corley Wallace Jr. (1919-08-25)August 25, 1919 Clio, Alabama, U.S.
Died	September 13, 1998(1998-09-13) (aged 79) Montgomery, Alabama, U.S.
Resting place	Greenwood Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Other political affiliations	American Independent (1968)
Spouse(s)	Lurleen Burns ​ ​ (m. 1943; died 1968)​ Cornelia Snively ​ ​ (m. 1971; div. 1978)​ Lisa Taylor ​ ​ (m. 1981; div. 1987)​
Children	4, including George
Education	University of Alabama (LLB)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1942–1945
Rank	Staff Sergeant
Unit	United States Army Air Forces
Battles/wars	World War II
Jere Beasley served as Acting Governor from June 5, 1972 – July 7, 1972 while Wallace recovered from the assassination attempt.

Wallace was born in Clio, Alabama. He began his long political career at the age of 33 after running for county judge.

When Wallace was running for president, he was shot, which made him paralyzed for the rest of his life. He is known for having different views on segregation, because he supported segregation. He was a Democrat.

Wallace died at the age of 79 from sepsis caused by a spinal infection after 26 years of being in a wheelchair.

Early life

Wallace was born George Corley Wallace on August 25, 1919 in Clio, Alabama. He studied at University of Alabama. He grew up in a lower-middle-class family. As a young man, he was an amateur boxer, where he fought as a bantamweight.

Wallace was a very short man for his entire life, and as an adult was about 5'2" (1.57m)

Career

He served four terms as governor of Alabama, and also ran for President of the United States several times, during the 1960s and 1970s. Wallace was a longtime supporter of segregation; a policy that did not allow African-Americans to go to the same schools or many of the same public places as white people. In 1963 he stood in a schoolhouse door to stop black students from going to the school (which would have integrated the school). In a speech, he said he would support "segregation today, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever". He was a controversial figure. Some people saw him as a man who spoke up for the poor and was an outspoken populist. Others saw him as a terrible person, a white supremacist who supported violence.

In time, he changed his views, and said that he was sorry to African-Americans and other people hurt by segregation. He promoted black equality in his last term as Governor. Despite this, he is still an icon of racism today and many people think of him as one of the most evil people in American history.

Assassination attempt

During the 1972 presidential campaign, Wallace was shot five times by someone who wanted to assassinate him, Arthur Bremer. He got a permanent injury to his spine. He could no longer walk, and spent the rest of his life using a wheelchair.

Later career

After his last term as governor, he began speaking in public places (including churches).

Personal life

Wallace was married to Laurleen Wallace until her death. He then married to Corelia Wallace until they divorced. Then he was married to Lisa Taylor until they divorced. He had four children.

Popular Culture

The Lynyrd Skynyrd song "Sweet Home Alabama" has the line "In Birmingham they love the Governor / Boo Boo Boo / Now we all did what we could do / if watergate does not bother me / does your conscience bother you now tell me true." Even though Wallace is not mentioned by name, the line clearly refers to him, and members of the band have confirmed this and have said they disliked Wallace.

Gary Sinise played him in the film George Wallace.

A tunnel on Interstate 10 in Alabama has been named the George Wallace Memorial Tunnel.

Death

Wallace died on September 13, 1998 in Montgomery, Alabama from sepsis complicated by a spinal infection, aged 79. He was buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Montgomery.

Other websites

Media related to George Wallace at Wikimedia Commons

• Governor Wallace's Schoolhouse Door speech Archived 2002-08-06 at the Wayback Machine archived at the University of Alabama
• George Wallace article Archived 2010-06-16 at the Wayback Machine at the Encyclopedia of Alabama
• George Wallace Archived 2018-11-22 at the Wayback Machine - Daily Telegraph obituary
• Oral History Interview with George Wallace from Oral Histories of the American South
• Caught on Tape: The White House Reaction to the Shooting of Alabama Governor and Democratic Presidential Candidate George Wallace from History's News Network: http://hnn.us/articles/45104.html
• George Wallace: Settin' the Woods on Fire PBS American Experience documentary, including complete transcript, teacher tools and links
• Cornelia Wallace's Obituary on Decatur Daily
• Political Graveyard
• Booknotes interview with Stephen Lesher on George Wallace: American Populist, February 27, 1994. Archived February 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine