LeRoy Collins
| LeRoy Collins | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 33rd Governor of Florida | |
|
In office January 4, 1955 – January 3, 1961 |
|
| Preceded by | Charley Eugene Johns |
| Succeeded by | C. Farris Bryant |
| Member of the Florida Senate | |
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In office 1940–1942 1943–1954 |
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| Member of the Florida House of Representatives | |
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In office 1934–1940 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Thomas LeRoy Collins March 10, 1909 Tallahassee, Florida |
| Died |
March 12, 1991 (aged 82) Tallahassee, Florida |
| Resting place | Call Family Cemetery, The Grove Plantation, Tallahassee, Florida |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Call Darby Collins |
| Profession | Attorney |
| Religion | Episcopalian |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Navy
|
| Years of service | 1942–1946 |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Thomas LeRoy Collins (March 10, 1909 – March 12, 1991) was an attorney and politician, the 33rd Governor of Florida, serving a special term in 1955, and being elected to a four-year term in 1956, serving through 1960. He was previously elected to several terms in the Florida House of Representatives and Senate. He was the first governor of the South to promote the moral necessity of ending segregation. Counseling "progress under law", he took a moderate course during the civil rights movement and is remembered as a voice for civil rights.
Collins was born and raised in Tallahassee, Florida, where he attended Leon High School. He went on to attend the Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, New York and then went to the Cumberland School of Law which is now in Birmingham, Alabama to earn a law degree. In 1932, he married Mary Call Darby, great-granddaughter of Richard K. Call, twice territorial governor of Florida.
Collins was first elected to public office in 1934, as Leon County's representative to the Florida House of Representatives. He continued to serve in the House until 1940, when he was elected to the Florida Senate to fill an unexpired term of the late William Hodges.
In 1941, he purchased the Grove Plantation, the house built by Richard K. Call in Tallahassee across the street from the Governor's Mansion. Re-elected to the Senate in 1942, Collins resigned to fight in the United States Navy during World War II.
After the war, in 1946 he was elected again to the Florida Senate. He was re-elected in 1950, serving until 1954. That year a special election was held to fill the remaining two years in the term of Governor Daniel T. McCarty, who had died in office in 1953.
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