Mills E. Godwin
| Mills E. Godwin Jr. | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 60th & 62nd Governor of Virginia | |
|
In office January 12, 1974 – January 14, 1978 |
|
| Lieutenant | John N. Dalton |
| Preceded by | A. Linwood Holton Jr. |
| Succeeded by | John N. Dalton |
|
In office January 15, 1966 – January 17, 1970 |
|
| Lieutenant | Fred G. Pollard |
| Preceded by | Albertis S. Harrison Jr. |
| Succeeded by | A. Linwood Holton Jr. |
| 28th Lieutenant Governor of Virginia | |
|
In office January 13, 1962 – January 15, 1966 |
|
| Governor | Albertis S. Harrison Jr. |
| Preceded by | Allie E.S. Stephens |
| Succeeded by | Fred G. Pollard |
| Member of the Virginia House of Delegates | |
|
In office 1952-1962 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Mills Edwin Godwin Jr. November 19, 1914 Nansemond County, Virginia(now Suffolk, Virginia), U.S. |
| Died | January 30, 1999 (aged 84) Newport News, Virginia |
| Resting place | Cedar Hill Cemetery, Suffolk, Virginia |
| Political party |
Democratic (until 1973) Republican (1973–1999) |
| Spouse(s) | Katherine Thomas Beale (m. 1940–99) |
| Children | Becky Godwin (1954-1968) |
| Residence | Chuckatuck, Virginia |
| Alma mater | College of William & Mary |
| Religion | Congregationalist |
Mills Edwin Godwin Jr. (November 19, 1914 – January 30, 1999) of Chuckatuck, Virginia, was an American politician who was the 60th and 62nd Governor of Virginia for two non-consecutive terms, from 1966 to 1970 and from 1974 to 1978.
In his first term, he was a member of the Democratic Party, and was the last Virginia governor elected as a part of the Byrd Organization, the conservative Democratic establishment that dominated the state's politics for over three decades. He was succeeded by A. Linwood Holton Jr., the first non-Democratic governor in over 80 years. By 1973, when he ran for a second term, Godwin had switched to the Republican Party, as the dominance of the Democrats in Virginia politics receded and the Byrd political machine had disintegrated. He was the first governor in the history of the United States to be elected as both a Democrat and a Republican.
Godwin was born in Nansemond County (now Suffolk, Virginia) and educated at the Norfolk Division of The College of William and Mary, now Old Dominion University and also received an LL.B. degree at the University of Virginia.
He married Katherine Thomas Beale of Holland, also in Nansemond County. They adopted one child, Becky Godwin (b. 1954). In August 1968, while Governor Godwin was attending the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, Becky and her mother were vacationing at the Oceanfront area of Virginia Beach when Becky was killed in a freak lightning accident.
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