Richards, D. J. (David John), 1933-

Born in 1933, David Richards was a prominent liberal activist and civil rights lawyer in Texas. Richards was raised in Waco, Texas, where he met his first wife, Governor Ann W. Richards (1933-2006). The high school sweethearts married in 1953 while attending Baylor University. After graduating in 1954, Richards enrolled in the University of Texas Law School. Upon graduation, the couple moved to Dallas where he began practicing law in 1957. In the meantime, they had four children – Cecile, Dan, Clark, and Ellen. Richards worked as a labor and civil rights attorney after moving to Austin in 1969. In addition to his private practice, he worked as head of litigation for the Texas Attorney General’s Office, attorney for the Texas Civil Liberties Union, and general counsel for the AFL-CIO of Texas. He also authored the book Once Upon a Time in Texas: A Liberal in the Lone Star State. After his divorce from Ann in 1980, Richards married his second wife, Sandy Hauser, with whom he had two children, Sam and Hallie.

Sources:

Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. Richards, Dorothy Ann Willis (Ann) http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/RR/fri62.html (accessed October 19, 2010).

Born in 1933, David Richards was a prominent liberal activist and civil rights lawyer in Texas.

Richards was raised in Waco, Texas, where he met his first wife, Governor Ann W. Richards (1933-2006). The high school sweethearts married in 1953 while attending Baylor University. After graduating in 1954, Richards enrolled in the University of Texas Law School. Upon graduation, the couple moved to Dallas where he began practicing law in 1957. In the meantime, they had four children - Cecile, Dan, Clark, and Ellen. Richards worked as a labor and civil rights attorney after moving to Austin in 1969. In addition to his private practice, he worked as head of litigation for the Texas Attorney General's Office, attorney for the Texas Civil Liberties Union, and general counsel for the AFL-CIO of Texas. He also authored the book Once Upon a Time in Texas: A Liberal in the Lone Star State. After his divorce from Ann in 1980, Richards married his second wife, Sandy Hauser, with whom he had two children, Sam and Hallie.