December 24, 1972

On Dec. 24, 1972, U.S. Rep. George William Andrews Jr., D-Alabama, underwent a second surgery in Birmingham when infection set in following the repair of an aortic artery two weeks earlier. He died on Dec. 25 and was succeeded by his wife, Elizabeth, who became the first woman from Alabama in the U.S. House of Representatives. George Andrews had served 14 consecutive terms beginning in 1944. He vehemently opposed civil rights legislation and advocated abolishing Alabama’s public schools system rather than integrating it. He had been working for Navy Intelligence in Pearl Harbor when nominated to fill the seat of Rep. Henry B. Steagall, who died in office in 1944. Andrews then ran unopposed for the Third District of east Alabama, becoming the first serviceman elected during World War II.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

Clayton native George W. Andrews Jr. (1906-1971) represented Alabama’s 3rd District from 1944-1965, known for his opposition to civil rights legislation. Prior to his time in the House of Representatives, Andrews served as district attorney for the 3rd Judicial Circuit of Alabama. (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of the U.S. Congress)

Portrait of George W. Andrews Jr. (Biographical director of the United States Congress, Wikipedia)

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