Henry Howell | |
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31st Lieutenant Governor of Virginia | |
In office December 4, 1971 – January 12, 1974 |
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Governor | A. Linwood Holton, Jr. |
Preceded by | J. Sargeant Reynolds |
Succeeded by | John N. Dalton |
Member of the Virginia Senate from the 2nd district |
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In office January 12, 1966 – December 4, 1971 |
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Preceded by | None (seat created) |
Succeeded by | Herbert H. Bateman |
Member of the Virginia House of Delegates from Norfolk City | |
In office January 8, 1964 – January 12, 1966 |
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In office January 13, 1960 – January 10, 1962 |
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Personal details | |
Born |
Henry Evans Howell, Jr. September 5, 1920 Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
Died | July 7, 1997 Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
(aged 76)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Elizabeth McCarty |
Alma mater |
College of William & Mary, Norfolk Division University of Virginia (LL.B.) |
Profession | Attorney |
Henry Evans Howell, Jr. (September 5, 1920 – July 7, 1997), nicknamed "Howlin' Henry" Howell, was an American politician from the U.S. state of Virginia. A progressive populist and a member of the Democratic Party, he served in both houses of the Virginia General Assembly, was elected the 31st Lieutenant Governor of Virginia as an Independent Democrat, and made several runs for Governor.
Born and raised in Norfolk, Virginia, Howell attended the local public schools. He earned a degree from the Norfolk branch of the College of William and Mary, which is now known as Old Dominion University, and an LL.B from the University of Virginia.
Howell first became involved in political campaigns in 1949. He worked for unsuccessful gubernatorial candidate Francis Pickens Miller against John S. Battle, the favored candidate of the Byrd Organization, the state's political machine, in the Democratic primary. After defeating Miller in the primary, Battle went on to win the general election. In 1952, Howell managed Miller's campaign against incumbent U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, the leader of the political machine, a campaign that Miller also lost.
The following year, Howell ran for a seat in the Virginia House of Delegates(a part-time position), but failed to win election. In 1959, during the Massive Resistance crisis, as the Byrd Organization closed Norfolk's schools until Governor J. Lindsay Almond, Jr. acceded to decisions of the Virginia Supreme Court and a three-judge federal panel mandating desegregation, Howell was elected as one of Norfolk's several representatives, along with Joshua Warren White and James W. Roberts. However, he failed to earn re-election in what was redistricted as District 51 in 1961. In 1963, after Howell and Arlington's Edmund D. Campbell won the Davis v. Mann redistricting case, Norfolk's voters elected Howell along with White and Robert to represent them in what had become District 50.