Thomas Burton Adams Jr. (March 11, 1917 – May 22, 2006) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

from the U.S. state of Florida. 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 (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, he served in the Florida Senate (1956–1960), as

Secretary of State of Florida The Secretary of State of Florida is an executive officer of the state government of the U.S. state of Florida, established since the original 1838 state constitution. Like the corresponding officials in other states, the original charge of the ...

(1961–1971), and as the tenth Lieutenant Governor of Florida (1971–1975).

Early life and career

Adams was born in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the seat of Duval County, with which the ...

to Thomas Burton Adams Sr. and the former Carolyn Hamilton. He attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. Adams married Helen Brown on July 30, 1939, and had a career as a real estate developer and an insurance businessman. Adams married Frances Sue Brewer in September 1973.

Political career

Adams began his political career when he was elected to the Florida State Senate in 1956 from the 29th district, encompassing

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

and Baker Counties. He served one term before being elected secretary of state in 1960, a position to which he was reelected in 1964 and 1966.

Lieutenant Governor

In 1970, Democratic gubernatorial nominee

Reubin Askew Reubin O'Donovan Askew (September 11, 1928 – March 13, 2014) was an American politician, who served as the 37th governor of Florida from 1971 to 1979. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 7th U.S. Trade representative from 1979 ...

selected Adams as his

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint Ticket (election), ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate ...

. Askew and Adams defeated incumbent

Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor Claude Roy Kirk and Lieutenant Governor

Ray C. Osborne Raymond Claiborne Osborne (September 7, 1933 – March 3, 2011), was a Florida Republican Party politician who served as the first Lieutenant Governor of Florida under the state constitution of 1968. Osborne was the state's first lieutenant ...

. Adams was the second lieutenant governor following the position's reinstatement after over 80 years. He was the first Democrat to hold the position under the 1968 Constitution. Though Adams was relied upon in the 1970 gubernatorial race as a seasoned Florida political veteran, he quickly became a liability over the course of his term. Askew, acting on the recommendation of political adviser Michael G. Kimber, appointed him state Secretary of Commerce, but Adams ran into ethical problems in 1973 when it was discovered that, in debt, he was leasing a farm in Quincy, Florida, and was using a department employee to manage it on government time. He was forced to repay $1,736 to the state and was censured by a legislative committee in lieu of impeachment. The scandal was the primary reason he was dropped from the 1974 ticket in favor of Jim Williams, who succeeded Adams as lieutenant governor after the Askew-Williams ticket's successful election.

Later life

Adams became the

NASCAR National Commissioner The NASCAR National Commissioner is a largely honorary title awarded by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Created by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr. as a reward for contributions to the sport of auto racing, the commission ...

in 1971. Adams briefly tried to make a political comeback in 1984 when he ran in a special election for a state senate seat, but he was trounced by Republican Tim Deratany by a margin of more than 2–1. Adams, a

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

, was a member of

Newcomen Society Newcomen may refer to: People *John Newcomen (c.1613–1630), English first white settler murdered by another white settler in Plymouth Colony, Massachusetts *Matthew Newcomen (c. 1610–1669), English nonconformist churchman *Thomas Newcomen (1663 ...

Rotary Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. Its stated mission is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and peace through hefellowship of business, profe ...

Alpha Kappa Psi Alpha Kappa Psi (, often stylized as AKPsi) is the oldest and largest business fraternity to current date. Also known as "AKPsi", the fraternity was founded on October 5, 1904, at New York University and was incorporated on May 20, 1905. It is cu ...

and

Phi Delta Theta Phi Delta Theta (), commonly known as Phi Delt, is an international secret and social fraternity founded at Miami University in 1848 and headquartered in Oxford, Ohio. Phi Delta Theta, along with Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi form the Miami Triad ...

Death

Adams was killed in a crash on

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost cross-country highway in the American Interstate Highway System. I-10 is the fourth-longest Interstate in the United States at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. This freeway is part of the originally pl ...

at the

Suwannee County Suwannee County is a county located in the north central portion of the state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,474, up from 41,551 in 2010. Its county seat is Live Oak. Suwannee County was a dry county until August 201 ...

- Columbia County border at about 2:50 pm on May 22, 2006. His 18-year-old son Thomas Burton Adams III was also in the 2004 Ford Explorer Sport Trac that Adams was driving at the time of the crash and was seriously injured. The accident occurred about northeast of Live Oak, the Suwannee

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

. Adams did not have on his

seat belt A seat belt (also known as a safety belt, or spelled seatbelt) is a vehicle safety device designed to secure the driver or a passenger of a vehicle against harmful movement that may result during a collision or a sudden stop. A seat belt reduc ...

when the crash occurred. Governor Jeb Bush ordered that all government buildings be flown at

half-staff Half-mast or half-staff (American English) refers to a flag flying below the summit of a ship mast, a pole on land, or a pole on a building. In many countries this is seen as a symbol of respect, mourning, distress, or, in some cases, a salut ...

in Adams' honor.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adams, Thomas Burton 1917 births 2006 deaths Politicians from Jacksonville, Florida Democratic Party Florida state senators Lieutenant Governors of Florida Secretaries of State of Florida Baptists from Florida Road incident deaths in Florida University of Michigan alumni 20th-century American politicians American real estate businesspeople American businesspeople in insurance Businesspeople from Florida 20th-century American businesspeople 20th-century Baptists