Thomas Gordon McLeod (December 17, 1868December 11, 1932) was an American attorney and the 95th Governor of

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 ...

from 1923 to 1927.

Biography

Born in Lynchburg, South Carolina to William J. McLeod, a former

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

in the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fi ...

, and Amanda McMillan Rogers McLeod, he attended Lynchburg Academy and graduated from

Wofford College Wofford College is a private liberal arts college in Spartanburg, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1854, it is one of the few four-year institutions in the southeastern United States founded before the American Civil War that still ope ...

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 ...

. His political career began when he was elected to the

South Carolina House of Representatives The South Carolina House of Representatives is the lower house of the South Carolina General Assembly. It consists of 124 representatives elected to two-year terms at the same time as U.S. congressional elections. Unlike many legislatures, seatin ...

in 1900. He became the first

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

from the newly formed Lee County in 1902. In 1906, he was elected the 66th

lieutenant governor of South Carolina The lieutenant governor of South Carolina is the second-in-command to the governor of South Carolina. Beyond the responsibility to act or serve as governor in the event of the office's vacancy, the duties of the lieutenant governor are chiefly ce ...

and re-elected in 1908. In the 1922 gubernatorial election, McLeod won a Democratic primary runoff against former Governor Cole Blease, effectively becoming the 95th governor of South Carolina. Re-elected in

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20–January 30, 30 – Kuomintang in Ch ...

, McLeod served as governor until his term expired in 1927. Upon leaving office he became the president of the Bishopville Telephone Company. He died on December 11, 1932, in Bishopville and is buried in the Bishopville Methodist Churchyard.

References

1868 births 1932 deaths 19th-century American people University of Virginia School of Law alumni Democratic Party members of the South Carolina House of Representatives Democratic Party South Carolina state senators Democratic Party governors of South Carolina University of South Carolina trustees Wofford College alumni People from Lee County, South Carolina 20th-century members of the South Carolina General Assembly {{SouthCarolina-politician-stub