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

Biography

Born in

Warsaw, North Carolina Warsaw is a town in Duplin County, North Carolina, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 2,733. History The Warsaw Historic District and Joshua James Blanchard House are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Geo ...

, Royall was the son of Margaret Pierce (née Best) and Kenneth C. Royall Sr., the last

Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...

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 The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. He went to

Wake Forest University School of Law Wake Forest University School of Law is the law school of Wake Forest University, a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Established in 1894, Wake Forest University School of Law is an American Bar Association (ABA) accred ...

and the

University of Virginia Law School The University of Virginia School of Law (Virginia Law) is the law school of the University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded by Thomas Jefferson in 1819 as part of his "academical village", and now ...

. He served in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

during

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 ...

. 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 North Carolina House of Representatives, Speaker of the House, who holds powers si ...

(1967–1973) and then the

North Carolina State Senate The North Carolina Senate is the Upper house, 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 Senate ...

(1973–1993) as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

. 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 The North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) is a two-year, public residential high school with two physical campuses located in Durham, North Carolina, and Morganton, North Carolina, that focuses on the intensive study of scie ...

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 members of the North Carolina General Assembly {{NorthCarolina-politician-stub