On this day in Alabama history: George McMillan was born
Dignitaries standing on the stage during the inauguration of Richard Arrington, the first African American mayor of Birmingham, Alabama. Left to right: Lieutenant Governor George McMillan; Governor Fob James, Mayor Arrington; and Rachel Arrington. (Alabama Department of Archives and History. Donated by Alabama Media Group. Photo by Ralph Farrow, Birmingham News)
Oct. 11, 1943
George McMillan Jr. was born Oct. 11, 1943, in Greenville, Butler County. He is a well-known attorney, former politician and owner and president of McMillan Associates, which produced the City Stages Music Festival.
McMillan earned his bachelor’s degree at Auburn University in 1966 and completed law school at the University of Virginia in 1969, after which he was admitted to the Alabama State Bar.
McMillan clerked for the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama and taught at the University of Alabama Law School. In 1971, he founded McMillan and Spratling law firm.
Two years later, McMillan was elected to the Alabama House of Representatives. In 1974, he was elected to the Alabama State Senate. McMillan was appointed to the Permanent Study Commission of the Alabama Judiciary System, earned recognition as “Alabama’s Hardest Working Senator” and in 1978 was named one of the 10 Most Outstanding Legislators in the Nation. He won the lieutenant governor’s race in 1978. In the 1982 election, McMillan unsuccessfully challenged George Wallace for the Democratic nomination for governor.
He founded McMillan Associates in 1988 and presented the first City Stages Music Festival the next year. He later founded the nonprofit Birmingham Cultural and Heritage Foundation.
Read more at Bhamwiki.
For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.
