Lester Maddox
Lester Maddox | |
|---|---|
Maddox in 1967 | |
| 75th Governor of Georgia | |
| In office January 10, 1967 – January 12, 1971 | |
| Lieutenant | George T. Smith |
| Preceded by | Carl Sanders |
| Succeeded by | Jimmy Carter |
| 7th Lieutenant Governor of Georgia | |
| In office January 12, 1971 – January 14, 1975 | |
| Governor | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | George T. Smith |
| Succeeded by | Zell Miller |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lester Garfield Maddox September 30, 1915 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | June 25, 2003 (aged 87) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington Memorial Park Sandy Springs, Georgia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Other political affiliations | American Independent (1968, 1976) |
| Spouse |
Hattie Virginia Cox
(m. 1935; died 1997) |
| Children | 4 |
Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of Georgia from 1967 to 1971.
A populist Southern Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationist, when he refused to serve African-American customers in his Atlanta restaurant, the Pickrick, in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He was soon after elected governor in 1966. Ineligible to run for a second consecutive term in 1970, he sought and won election as lieutenant governor instead, serving alongside his successor as governor, Jimmy Carter. Maddox later ran for president in 1976.