On this day in Alabama history: Carl Elliott was born

December 20, 1913

Carl Atwood Elliott (1913-1999) was an attorney and served eight terms in Congress. Elliott was born on Dec. 20, 1913, in Vina in Franklin County. He received his undergraduate and law degrees at the University of Alabama. Elliott served in the U.S. Army from 1942 to 1944. Much of Elliott’s work in the U.S. House of Representatives was in support of education and social programs benefiting his district, Alabama and the nation. During his eight terms in Congress, Elliott supported liberal legislation, including the Fair Deal under President Harry S. Truman, the New Frontier under President John F. Kennedy and the Great Society under President Lyndon B. Johnson. Although Elliott refused to support federal desegregation legislation, he was widely criticized for his liberal views. He went into debt in an unsuccessful bid for governor in 1966. Elliott received the John F. Kennedy Foundation’s Profile in Courage Award in recognition of his progressive views on social issues.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Flyer from Carl Elliott’s 1966 gubernatorial campaign. (Bhamwiki)

Carl Elliot (1913-1999) represented Alabama in the U.S. Congress from 1949-1964, focusing his efforts on social reforms and education. Before and after his terms in Washington, D.C., Elliot worked as an attorney in Jasper. He was given the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award in 1990. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History)

Photograph of Carl Elliott in 1990 from the Profile in Courage awards ceremony. (http://www.jfklibrary.org, Bhamwiki)

Alabama Historical Association marker dedicated to Congressman Carl Atwood Elliott (1913–1999) in Vina, 2018. (Brian Stansberry, Wikipedia)

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.