Ross R. Barnett
| Ross Barnett | |
|---|---|
Ross Barnett, 1964
|
|
| 53rd Governor of Mississippi | |
|
In office January 19, 1960 – January 21, 1964 |
|
| Lieutenant | Paul B. Johnson, Jr. |
| Preceded by | James P. Coleman |
| Succeeded by | Paul B. Johnson, Jr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Ross Robert Barnett January 22, 1898 Standing Pine, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | November 6, 1987 (aged 89) Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Mary Pearl Crawford |
| Parents | John William and Virginia Ann Chadwick Barnett |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Southern Baptist |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 United States
|
| Service/branch |
 United States Army
|
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Ross Robert Barnett (January 22, 1898 – November 6, 1987) was the Governor of Mississippi from 1960 to 1964. He was a prominent member of the Dixiecrats, Southern Democrats who supported racial segregation.
Born in Standing Pine in Leake County in the heart of Mississippi, Barnett was the youngest of ten children of John William Barnett, a Confederate veteran, and the former Virginia Ann Chadwick. He served in the United States Army during World War I, then worked in a variety of jobs while earning an undergraduate degree from Mississippi College in Clinton in 1922. Four years later, he followed that with an LL.B. from the University of Mississippi at Oxford. In 1929, he married Mary Pearl Crawford, a schoolteacher, with the couple's long-time union producing two daughters and a son.
Over the next quarter century, Barnett became one of the state's most successful trial lawyers, earning more than $100,000 per year with specialty in damage suits. He often donated his skills to causes and served as president of the Mississippi Bar Association for two years beginning in 1943.
Using the income derived from his legal fees, Barnett sought to try his hand at politics, unsuccessfully running twice in the Democratic primary for Governor of Mississippi, in 1951 and 1955. In those days, Mississippi was a one-party state dominated by the Democrats, and the Democratic primary was the real contest. On his third try in 1959, he won the nomination. No Republican even filed, and Barnett was unopposed in the November general election. He was duly inaugurated on January 19, 1960. During his term in office, he celebrated the centennial of the American Civil War. Barnett traveled to Civil War sites to pay homage to fallen "Sons Of Mississippi".
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