Lawrence Wetherby

Lawrence Wetherby
Wetherby in 1951
48th Governor of Kentucky
In office November 27, 1950 – December 13, 1955
Lieutenant	Emerson Beauchamp
Preceded by	Earle C. Clements
Succeeded by	A. B. "Happy" Chandler
40th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office December 9, 1947 – November 27, 1950
Governor	Earle C. Clements
Preceded by	Kenneth H. Tuggle
Succeeded by	Emerson Beauchamp
Member of the Kentucky Senate
In office 1966
Personal details
Born	Lawrence Winchester Wetherby January 2, 1908 Middletown, Kentucky
Died	March 27, 1994(1994-03-27) (aged 86) Frankfort, Kentucky
Resting place	Frankfort Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Helen Dwyer
Alma mater	University of Louisville
Profession	Lawyer
Religion	Methodist

Lawrence Winchester Wetherby (January 2, 1908 – March 27, 1994) was an American politician who served as lieutenant governor and governor of Kentucky. He is the only governor in state history born in Jefferson County, despite the fact that Louisville, the county seat, is the state's most populous city.

After graduating from the University of Louisville, Wetherby held several minor offices in the Jefferson County judicial system before being elected lieutenant governor in 1947. He was called Kentucky's first "working" lieutenant governor because Governor Earle C. Clements asked him to carry out duties beyond his constitutional responsibility to preside over the state Senate, such as preparing the state budget and attending the Southern Governors Conference. In 1950, Clements resigned to assume a seat in the U.S. Senate, elevating Wetherby to governor. Wetherby won immediate acclaim by calling a special legislative session to increase funding for education and government benefits from the state's budget surplus. In 1951, he won a four-year full term as governor, during which he continued and expanded many of Clements' programs, including increased road construction and industrial diversification. He endorsed the Supreme Court's 1954 desegregation order in the case of Brown v. Board of Education and appointed a biracial commission to oversee the successful integration of the state's schools. As chair of the Southern Governors Conference in 1954 and 1955, he encouraged other southern governors to accept and implement desegregation.

Limited to one term by the state constitution, Wetherby supported Bert T. Combs to be his successor, but Combs lost in the Democratic primary to A. B. "Happy" Chandler, a former governor and factional opponent of both Wetherby and Clements. Chandler's failure to support Wetherby's 1956 bid to succeed Democrat Alben Barkley in the Senate contributed to his loss to Republican John Sherman Cooper. From 1964 to 1966, Wetherby served on a commission charged with revising the state constitution, and in 1966 he was elected to the Kentucky Senate, where he provided leadership in drafting the state budget. Following this, he retired from politics and served as a consultant for Brighton Engineering. He died March 27, 1994 of complications from a broken hip and was buried in Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky.