William C. Battle
| William C. Battle | |
|---|---|
| United States Ambassador to Australia | |
|
In office 1962–1964 |
|
| President | John F. Kennedy |
| Preceded by | William J. Sebald |
| Succeeded by | Ed Clark |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 9, 1920 Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Died | May 31, 2008 (aged 87) Charlottesville, Virginia |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Barry Webb |
| Alma mater | University of Virginia |
| Profession | Lawyer, Diplomat, Businessman |
William Cullen Battle (October 9, 1920 – May 31, 2008) was a lawyer, businessman, United States Ambassador to Australia, and president of the United States Golf Association.
Battle was born in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was the son of John S. Battle, former Governor of Virginia (1950–54). While attending the University of Virginia, Battle played on the varsity golf team, until his graduation in 1941.
Battle served in the U.S. Navy during World War II and was awarded the Silver Star. He was in the same squadron in the South Pacific as John F. Kennedy and participated in Kennedy's rescue from the island on which he and his crew were marooned.
After the war, he returned to the University of Virginia, earned a law degree in 1947, and was admitted to the Virginia bar.
Battle worked in his father's law firm, as well as helped his father win election as Governor of Virginia in 1950. During the Massive Resistance crisis, both Battles represented the Albemarle County Public Schools, who were being sued by the NAACP on behalf of parents who wanted their children to attend integrated schools. After joint decisions of the Virginia Supreme Court and three-judge federal panel on January 19, 1959 undercut the Massive Resistance laws known as the Stanley Plan (which, among other provisions, proposed closing any public school acceding to a court desegregation order), Battle ultimately negotiated a settlement with the NAACP, and Charlotteville public schools reopened.
The younger Battle later worked on Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign and was appointed Ambassador to Australia, serving from 1962 to 1964.
In 1969, in an election that became known for the crumbling of the last vestiges of Massive Resistance and the Byrd Organization, Battle (the Democrat's gubernatorial candidate) lost to Republican A. Linwood Holton, Jr.. Holton, who put his (white) children in Richmond's (mostly African-American) public schools became the first Republican governor of the Commonwealth since the end of the Reconstruction Era. While Senator Harry F. Byrd had died several years previously, Virginia's other long-term Senator A. Willis Robertson also lost in this election, and when Senator Harry F. Byrd Jr. ran for re-election the following year, he did so as an "independent."
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