Richard Thurmond Chatham (August 16, 1896 – February 5, 1957), who usually went by Thurmond Chatham, was a member of the

U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

, an

industrialist A business magnate, also known as an industrialist or tycoon, is a person who is a powerful entrepreneur and investor who controls, through personal enterprise ownership or a dominant shareholding position, a firm or industry whose goods or ser ...

and

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives for the public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private good, focusing on material ...

. He represented North Carolina from 1949 to 1957.

Early years

Born in

Elkin, North Carolina Elkin is a town in Surry County, North Carolina, Surry and Wilkes County, North Carolina, Wilkes counties in the U.S. state of North Carolina, along the Yadkin River. Elkin shares its name with the surrounding township of Elkin Township, Surry Co ...

, Chatham was the only son of Hugh Gwyn Chatham and Martha Lenoir Chatham. His grandfather was Alexander Chatham, founder of Chatham Manufacturing Company. His other grandfather, R J Thurmond shot and killed

William Faulkner William Cuthbert Faulkner (; September 25, 1897 – July 6, 1962) was an American writer. He is best known for William Faulkner bibliography, his novels and short stories set in the fictional Yoknapatawpha County, Mississippi, a stand-in fo ...

's grandfather. Chatham was educated in the public schools and at

Woodberry Forest School Woodberry Forest School is a private, all-male boarding school located in Woodberry Forest, Madison County, Virginia, in the United States. Woodberry's current enrollment is 391. Students come from 34 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., and 36 coun ...

Orange, Virginia Orange is a town and the county seat of Orange County, Virginia, United States. The population was 4,880 at the 2020 census, representing a 3.4% increase since the 2010 census. Orange is northeast of Charlottesville, southwest of Washington, ...

. He attended the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

from 1915–1916 and

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

from 1916–1917, but left college to enter the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

Career

In July 1919, Chatham began working for his family's company, Chatham Manufacturing, which was the world's largest manufacturer of blankets. After serving as treasurer of the company, he became president in 1929 and chairman of the board of directors in 1945. During his presidency, the company experienced considerable growth in expansion in capacity and profits, as well as an increase in the variety of products.

Naval career

Chatham first entered 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 a seaman during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

until he was discharged as an ensign in 1919. Afterwards, he served 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 ...

from February 1942 to November 1945, as an officer on the

USS Phoenix (CL-46) USS ''Phoenix'' (CL-46), was a light cruiser of the family. She was the third ''Phoenix'' of the United States Navy. After World War II the ship was transferred to Argentina in 1951 and was named in 1956. ''General Belgrano'' was sunk during ...

in the Southwest Pacific and Atlantic. He fought in the

New Guinea campaign The New Guinea campaign of the Pacific War lasted from January 1942 until the end of the war in August 1945. During the initial phase in early 1942, the Empire of Japan invaded the Territory of New Guinea on 23 January and Territory of Papua on ...

, Battle of Cape Gloucester, Battle of Wakde,

Admiralty Islands campaign The Admiralty Islands campaign (Operation Brewer) was a series of battles in the New Guinea campaign of World War II in which the United States Army's 1st Cavalry Division took the Japanese-held Admiralty Islands. Acting on reports from air ...

and

Battle of Hollandia The Battle of Hollandia (code-named Operation Reckless) was an engagement between Allies of World War II and Japanese forces during World War II. The majority of the Allied force was provided by the United States, with the bulk of two United St ...

. He worked with the

Bureau of Ordnance The Bureau of Ordnance (BuOrd) was a United States Navy organization, which was responsible for the procurement, storage, and deployment of all naval weapons, between the years 1862 and 1959. History The Bureau of Ordnance was established as part ...

and the office of the secretary of the navy, before being assigned to combat duty. He was named commander in the U.S. National Reserve, and was decorated with the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

, the Secretary of the Navy's Commendation Medal, and the Royal

Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau () is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has performed acts of special merits for ...

with Swords from the Dutch Government and earned the American Theater Ribbon, European Theater Ribbon, Asiatic Theater Ribbon with three battle stars, World War I Ribbon, and Victory Ribbon. He continued his service in the Naval Reserve, and in 1950 was appointed a Captain.

Political life

With his only previous political experience as a county commissioner in

Forsyth County, North Carolina Forsyth County ( )Talk Like a Tarheel
, from the North Carolina Co ...

, Chatham was unsuccessful in his 1946 bid for the Democratic nomination for Congress. During the elections of 1948, Chatham proved that he was an active contributor of his party, and a strong supporter of President

Harry S. Truman Harry S. Truman (May 8, 1884December 26, 1972) was the 33rd president of the United States, serving from 1945 to 1953. As the 34th vice president in 1945, he assumed the presidency upon the death of Franklin D. Roosevelt that year. Subsequen ...

. He was first elected in 1948 and then re-elected for three more terms. While in Congress, he was a member of the

House Foreign Affairs Committee The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs, also known as the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is a standing committee of the U.S. House of Representatives with jurisdiction over bills and investigations concerning the foreign affairs ...

and was an advocate of recognition of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and support for the Marshall Plan. Notably, he did not sign the 1956

Southern Manifesto The Declaration of Constitutional Principles (known informally as the Southern Manifesto) was a document written in February and March 1956, during the 84th United States Congress, in opposition to racial integration of public places. The manife ...

despite school segregation being legally required in North Carolina prior to ''

Brown v. Board of Education ''Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka'', 347 U.S. 483 (1954), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that ruled that U.S. state laws establishing racial segregation in public schools are unconstitutional, even if the ...

'' (1954). As a result, Chatham lost the Democratic Party primary to Ralph James Scott.

Later years

Chatham was a trustee of the University of North Carolina and of Woodberry Forest School; president of the Winston-Salem Chamber of Commerce; and a member of the National Association of Wool Manufacturers, the American Legion, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars. In 1948, he served on the North Carolina Board of Conservation and Development and was president of the North Carolina Dairymen's Association.

Family life

In 1919, Chatham married Lucy Hodgin Hanes (1895–1949), daughter of John Wesley Hanes. The couple had two sons, Hugh Gwyn II and Richard Thurmond, Jr. After Lucy died, Chatham married Patricia Firestone Coyner in 1950. In 1951 the couple purchased and remodeled Prospect House. The couple had one son, Walter Firestone, born in 1952. Chatham died 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 ...

and was buried in the Salem Cemetery in

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and its county seat. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the List of municipalities in North Carolina, fifth-most populous ...

. His estate was valued at almost $2,000,000, of which $250,000 was used to establish the Chatham Foundation, a charitable trust supporting education. The Thurmond and Lucy Chatham House at Winston-Salem was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2014.

References

Biography uses material from
Biographical Note, Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

External links

Congressional Biography
in the Southern Historical Collection, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, UNC-Chapel Hill. {{DEFAULTSORT:Chatham, Thurmond 1896 births 1957 deaths People from Elkin, North Carolina People from Forsyth County, North Carolina Politicians from Winston-Salem, North Carolina University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Yale University alumni Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from North Carolina Hanes family Woodberry Forest School alumni Burials at Salem Cemetery (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives