George Bell Timmerman Jr. (August 11, 1912November 29, 1994) was an American politician and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veteran who served as the 105th governor of South Carolina from 1955 to 1959. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the state's 76th

lieutenant governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

from 1947 to 1955.

Life and career

Timmerman was born in Anderson County, the son of Mary Vandiver (Sullivan) and George Bell Timmerman Sr., a U.S. federal judge. He was raised in Charleston and graduated from

The Citadel The Citadel Military College of South Carolina (simply known as The Citadel) is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. Established in 1842, it is the third oldest of the six senior military colleges ...

. After receiving a law degree from the University of South Carolina, he practiced law with his father in Batesburg. Timmerman enlisted in the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest displacement, at 4.5 million tons in 2021. It has the world's largest aircraft ...

as an

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

with the entry of the United States in

after the

attack on Pearl Harbor The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at Naval Station Pearl Harbor, its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Territory of ...

Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina

Returning to

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

after the war, Timmerman ran as a Democrat for Lieutenant Governor in 1946 on the same ticket as fellow veteran

Strom Thurmond James Strom Thurmond Sr. (December 5, 1902 – June 26, 2003) was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 49 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South ...

. He was elected for a term beginning in 1947 and reelected in 1950 for another four-year term.

Gubernatorial tenure

While Governor he opposed the Supreme Court's ruling in

1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

, which declared segregated public schools unconstitutional. Timmerman fought the changes brought by the decision, in an attempt to defend "the integrity of the races" and "our customs and institutions." He urged Congress to limit the authority of the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

. He regarded the insistence of the

Northern United States The Northern United States, commonly referred to as the American North, the Northern States, or simply the North, is a geographical and historical region of the United States. History Early history Before the 19th century westward expansion, the ...

racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of Race (classification of human beings), race, and t ...

as hypocritical. In the gubernatorial election of 1954, he faced nominal opposition in the Democratic primary and ran unopposed in the general election. He became the 105th Governor of South Carolina in 1955. He sought to thwart an order by the Interstate Commerce Commission for desegregation of long-distance travel in 1955, especially because it affected public waiting rooms. At the same time, Timmerman opposed federal court orders aimed at integrating public parks, bathing beaches and golf courses. For the

desegregation Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation), leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws ...

of public schools, he vowed with other governors of the

Southern United States The Southern United States (sometimes Dixie, also referred to as the Southern States, the American South, the Southland, Dixieland, or simply the South) is List of regions of the United States, census regions defined by the United States Cens ...

to thwart it with congressional or state legislation. He was the favorite presidential candidate of the South Carolina delegation at the

1956 Democratic National Convention The 1956 Democratic National Convention nominated former Governor Adlai Stevenson II, Adlai Stevenson of Illinois for president and United States Senate, Senator Estes Kefauver of Tennessee for vice president. It was held in the Internation ...

. During the convention, Timmerman was a leader of Southern opposition to what he called "radical civil rights legislation and radical planks in the platform." He signed a law in 1956 to bar members of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is an American civil rights organization formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. B. Du&nbs ...

from public employment in South Carolina. He opposed

civil rights Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' political freedom, freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and ...

laws enacted by the administration of

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

Judicial appointment and retirement

After leaving the governorship in 1959, Timmerman was appointed as a judge to the state's Eleventh Judicial Circuit in 1967 and served until 1984. While a judge, Timmerman declared the 1974 South Carolina law on

capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), sentence ordering that an offender b ...

to be unconstitutional. This ruling was affirmed in the 1976

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

decision ''

Gregg v. Georgia ''Gregg v. Georgia'', ''Proffitt v. Florida'', ''Jurek v. Texas'', ''Woodson v. North Carolina'', and ''Roberts v. Louisiana'', 428 U.S. 153 (1976), is a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court. It reaffirmed the Court's acceptance of the ...

''. He died on November 29, 1994, in

Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina Batesburg-Leesville is a town located in Lexington County, South Carolina, Lexington and Saluda County, South Carolina, Saluda counties, South Carolina, United States. The town's population was 5,362 as of the 2010 United States Census, 2010 cens ...

References

External links

SCIway Biography of George Bell TimmermanUSC Biography of George Bell Timmerman Jr.George Bell Timmerman, Jr. Papers
at South Carolina Political Collection at the University of South Carolina

Collection at the South Carolina Department of Archives & History (RG 548000) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Timmerman, George Bell Jr. 1912 births 1994 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War II American segregationists The Citadel alumni Democratic Party governors of South Carolina South Carolina lawyers South Carolina state court judges University of South Carolina alumni University of South Carolina trustees Candidates in the 1956 United States presidential election 20th-century South Carolina politicians 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century South Carolina state court judges People from Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina United States Navy officers Military personnel from South Carolina