On this day in Alabama history: Chauncey Sparks died
In response to calls for supporting civil rights by Democratic senator Hubert Humphrey, Alabama delegates walked out of the 1948 Democratic National Convention, establishing the breakaway faction of the Democratic Party that became known as the "Dixiecrats." (From Encyclopedia of Alabama, courtesy of Alabama Department of Archives and History)
Nov. 6, 1968
Chauncey Sparks, who served as governor during the booming economy of the World War II years, died in Eufaula. A farmer and lawyer born in Barbour County, Sparks briefly served in the Legislature during the early 1920s but then left politics for a few years. After returning to the Legislature, he ran unsuccessfully for governor in 1938, and then won in 1942. Considered a relative progressive in office, he doubled state expenditures for education and also extended the length of the school year. Barred by state law from succeeding himself, Sparks’ term ended in 1947. He remained active in the Democratic Party and made one more, unsuccessful, run for governor in 1950.
Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.
For more on Alabama’s bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.
