Wilder, Lawrence Douglas, 1931-

<p>Former governor of Virginia L. Douglas Wilder was born in Richmond, Virginia, on January 17, 1931. The second youngest of eight children, Wilder often spent time as a child at the local barbershop listening to political debates. After graduating from Armstrong High School at the age of sixteen, Wilder attended Virginia Union University, while he worked as a waiter to pay his way through college. Wilder earned his B.A. degree in chemistry from Virginia Union in 1951; the following year he was drafted into the army and sent to Korea. In Korea Wilder would lead a group of POW’s under his watch through artillery fire to rescue a group of wounded American soldiers, which earned him the Bronze Star.</p>

<p>Following his time in the Army, Wilder decided to become a lawyer, and in 1956, he entered Howard University. While at Howard University, Wilder met Henry Marsh, the future mayor of Richmond, and had the opportunity to watch Thurgood Marshall and a number of other notables hone their skills in moot court. Wilder also met Eunice Montgomery during his days as a student, and the two married on October 11, 1958. Wilder opened his law firm, which would become Wilder, Gregory & Associates, in 1961, and was soon asked by Spottswood Robinson, who had worked on the Brown v. Board of Education case, to take on some of his excess workload. While Wilder's legal career got off to a successful start, he refused to sit on the segregated side of courtrooms, and often argued with judges about the treatment of his clients. Over the next decade and a half, Wilder argued several famous cases, including his defense of William Penn, an infamous serial killer, which resulted in a hung jury. In 1969, Wilder successfully ran for the Virginia State Senate, becoming the first African American to hold a position there in almost one hundred years. In his first speech in the Senate, Wilder blasted the use of the racially offensive song, Carry Me Back to Old Virginny, and though his bill to repeal the anthem fell short, his reputation as an orator was secured.</p>

<p>During his time in the Senate, Wilder supported a number of bills that were beneficial to low-income residents, and was also a major proponent of anti-discrimination bills. Wilder was most active, however, in reforming legislation relating to juvenile criminal offenders. Beginning in the mid-1970s, Wilder also fought to secure a state holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s, birthday, which finally succeeded in 1984. The following year, Wilder won an election to become the first black lieutenant governor in the United States in a landslide victory. After five years as lieutenant governor, Wilder was elected governor of Virginia, the first African American to become governor of a state in United States history. Coming into office in a budget crisis, Wilder was forced to make job and pay cuts, but in the end, Financial Magazine named Virginia the best-managed state in the country. Throughout his term in office, Wilder worked hard to support his low-income constituents and to promote equal opportunities for women and minorities.</p>

L. DOUGLAS WILDER was born in Richmond, Virginia, and earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Virginia Union University in 1951. He earned his law degree in 1959 from Howard University School of Law. He served in the U.S. Army in Korea 1952-1953 and was awarded the Bronze Star for heroism in ground combat. He was elected to the Virginia Senate in 1969 where he served until his election as lieutenant governor in 1985. He was elected governor in 1989, and served from 1990-1994. Wilder was the first black American to be elected a United States governor. A fiscally conservative Democrat, Wilder attracted national attention for his austere approach to Virginia’s budget problems and for advocating drug testing of college students. In 1991 Wilder sought the Democratic presidential nomination, running as a centrist, but he failed to raise sufficient funds and withdrew from the race in January 1992. Barred by state law from seeking a second consecutive term as governor, Wilder left office in 1994. He became a professor at the Center for Public Policy of Virginia Commonwealth University in 1995.

<p>Lawrence Douglas Wilder was born January 17, 1931, in the segregated Church Hill neighborhood of Richmond. His paternal grandparents had been enslaved in Goochland County. The seventh of eight children, Wilder was named for the African American writers Paul Laurence Dunbar and Frederick Douglass. His father, Robert, was an insurance salesman, and the younger Wilder recalled a childhood of “gentle poverty.” His mother, Beulah, encouraged his education by making him learn a new word every day from a crossword puzzle. His aunt, meanwhile, held formal teas where all the children were expected to perform. Wilder later said he learned at these events how to speak in front of crowds.</p>

<p>Wilder worked his way through Virginia Union University in Richmond by waiting tables at hotels where political events were common. Unlike other waiters, he stayed to listen to the speeches and formed an interest in politics. Wilder graduated in 1951 with a degree in chemistry. Drafted into the United States Army during the Korean War (1950–1953), he volunteered for combat duty to reduce his service time. At Pork Chop Hill, he and two other men found themselves cut off from their unit, but they bluffed nineteen Chinese soldiers into surrendering. For that feat, Wilder was awarded a Bronze Star and later promoted to sergeant.</p>

<p>After returning home, Wilder worked in the state medical examiner’s office and pursued a master’s degree in chemistry. The 1954 U.S. Supreme Court decision Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, which outlawed segregation in public schools, inspired Wilder to change careers, however, and in 1956 he entered law school at Howard University in Washington, D.C. After graduating in 1959 he established a law practice in Richmond. He married Eunice Montgomery on October 11, 1958. The couple had three children but later divorced.</p>

<p>Lawrence Douglas Wilder (born January 17, 1931) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 66th Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1994. He was the first African-American to serve as governor of a U.S. state since the Reconstruction era, and the first elected African-American governor.</p>

<p>Born in Richmond, Virginia, Wilder graduated from Virginia Union University and served in the United States Army during the Korean War. He established a legal practice in Richmond after graduating from the Howard University School of Law. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilder won election to the Virginia Senate in 1969. He remained in that chamber until 1986, when he took office as the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia, becoming the first African-American to hold statewide office in Virginia. In the 1989 Virginia gubernatorial election, Wilder narrowly defeated Republican Marshall Coleman.</p>

<p>Wilder left the gubernatorial office in 1994, as the Virginia constitution prohibited governors from seeking re-election. He briefly sought the 1992 Democratic presidential nomination, but withdrew from the race before the first primaries. He also briefly ran as an independent in the 1994 Virginia Senate election before dropping out of the race. Wilder returned to elective office in 2005, when he became the first directly-elected Mayor of Richmond. After leaving office in 2009, he worked as an adjunct professor and founded the United States National Slavery Museum.</p>