Kenneth Claiborne Royall Jr. (September 2, 1918 – June 5, 1999) was an American politician and businessman.

Biography

Born in Warsaw, North Carolina, Royall was the son of Margaret Pierce (née Best) and Kenneth C. Royall Sr., the last Secretary of War and first

Secretary of the Army The secretary of the Army (SA or SECARMY) is a senior civilian official within the United States Department of Defense, with statutory responsibility for all matters relating to the United States Army: manpower, personnel, reserve affairs, insta ...

. Royall graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He went to Wake Forest University School of Law and the University of Virginia Law School. He served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. Royall owned a furniture store in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

. He served on the Durham County School Board. Royall then served in the

North Carolina House of Representatives The North Carolina House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the North Carolina General Assembly. The House is a 120-member body led by a Speaker of the House, who holds powers similar to those of the President pro-tem in the North Ca ...

(1967–1973) and then the

North Carolina State Senate The North Carolina Senate is the upper chamber of the North Carolina General Assembly, which along with the North Carolina House of Representatives—the lower chamber—comprises the state legislature of North Carolina. The term of office for e ...

(1973–1993) as a Democrat. In the Senate, he was majority leader and chairman of the Appropriations committee, and he advocated for mental health and blindness prevention. The state-supported Kenneth C. Royall Jr. Children's Vision Screening Improvement Program is named in his honor. He was key to the formation of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and to the Royall Center for the Arts, both in Durham. He died in Durham, North Carolina on June 5, 1999, at the age of 80. Kenneth Royall's wife, Julia, died in

on November 30, 1995, at age 71. They were interred in Maplewood Cemetery,

Notes

External links

* People from Warsaw, North Carolina Politicians from Durham, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Wake Forest University School of Law alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni Businesspeople from North Carolina Democratic Party members of the North Carolina House of Representatives Democratic Party North Carolina state senators 1918 births 1999 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century American legislators 20th-century North Carolina politicians {{NorthCarolina-politician-stub