L. Douglas Wilder

Douglas Wilder
Wilder in January 2003
66th Governor of Virginia
In office January 13, 1990 – January 15, 1994
Lieutenant	Don Beyer
Preceded by	Gerald L. Baliles
Succeeded by	George F. Allen
78th Mayor of Richmond
In office January 2, 2005 – January 1, 2009
Preceded by	Rudolph McCollum Jr.
Succeeded by	Dwight Clinton Jones
35th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia
In office January 18, 1986 – January 12, 1990
Governor	Gerald L. Baliles
Preceded by	Richard J. Davis, Jr.
Succeeded by	Don Beyer
Member of the Virginia Senate from the 9th district
In office January 12, 1972 – January 8, 1986
Preceded by	M. Patton Echols
Succeeded by	Benjamin Lambert
Member of the Virginia Senate from the 30th district
In office January 14, 1970 – January 12, 1972
Preceded by	J. Sargeant Reynolds
Succeeded by	Leroy S. Bendheim
Personal details
Born	Lawrence Douglas Wilder (1931-01-17) January 17, 1931 (age 86) Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Other political affiliations	Independent
Spouse(s)	Eunice Montgomery (div. 1978)
Residence	Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
Alma mater	Virginia Union University Howard University
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Baptist
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1951–1953
Rank	Sergeant
Battles/wars	Korean War
Awards	Bronze Star Medal

Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American politician, who served as the first African American to be elected as governor of Virginia and first African-American governor of any U.S. state since Reconstruction. Wilder served as the 66th Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. When earlier elected as Lieutenant Governor, he was the first African American elected to statewide office in Virginia. His most recent political office was Mayor of Richmond, Virginia, which he held from 2005 to 2009.

Wilder was born on January 17, 1931 in the segregated Church Hill neighborhood of Richmond. He is the son of Beulah Olive (Richards) and Robert Judson Wilder, and is the grandson of slaves, his paternal grandparents having been enslaved in Goochland County. The seventh of eight brothers and sisters, Wilder was named for the African American writers Paul Laurence Dunbar and Frederick Douglass.

Wilder’s father sold insurance, his mother worked as a maid, and while never completely destitute, Wilder recalled his early years during the Great Depression as a childhood of "gentle poverty."

Wilder worked his way through Virginia Union University by waiting tables at hotels and shining shoes, graduating in 1951 with a degree in chemistry. Drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War, he volunteered for combat duty. At the Battle of Pork Chop Hill, he and two other men found themselves cut off from their unit, but they bluffed nineteen Chinese soldiers into surrendering, for which Wilder was awarded the Bronze Star Medal. He was a Sergeant at the time of his discharge in 1953.