A Tribute to Senator J. Strom Thurmond

June 26, 2003 marked the end of an era with the death of former Senator Thurmond. In my opinion, and perhaps undisputedly, one of the greatest statesmen of the twentieth century, Strom Thurmond touched the life of almost every South Carolinian in one way or another.

Born in Edgefield, South Carolina, Senator Thurmond was the longest and old serving member of the US Senate. His unwavering dedication to his fellow South Carolinians resulted in his unmatched longevity in public service, despite some opinions that were not popular among the majority. His death is one we will mourn and feel for quite some time to come.

Timeline

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Timeline:

• December 5, 1902: James Strom Thurmond was born in Edgefield, South Carolina
• 1903: The Wright Brothers make their historical flight
• 1914-18: World War I
• August 18, 1920: The 19th Amendment to the US Constitution was passed giving women the right to vote
• 1923-29: Thurmond's college years - he earns a bachelor of science in horticulture from Clemson College (now Clemson University) and starts work as a farmer, teacher and coach.
• 1927: The Jazz Singer, the first movie featuring spoken dialogue was released
• 1929: The stock market crash triggers the Great Depression
• 1930: After studying law under his father, Thurmond is admitted to the South Carolina Bar and serves as the Edgefield town and county attorney.
• 1932: Thurmond, as a Democrat, is elected to South Carolina's state Senate.
• 1939-45: World War II
• 1944: Thurmond parachutes into France on D-Day with the 82nd Airborne Division.
• 1946: Thurmond is elected governor of South Carolina.
• 1947: Thurmond marries Jean Crouch
• 1948: Southern delegates quit the Democratic National Convention over the issue of civil rights. Thurmond runs for president as a segregationist on the Dixiecrat ticket. He wins 39 electoral votes from Southern states.
• 1950-1953: Korean War
• 1950: Thurmond loses his first bid for senator
• 1952: Dwight D. Eisenhower is elected president
• 1954: Thurmond wins his U.S. Senate seat as a write-in candidate
• 1955: The modern civil rights movement begins with the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama
• 1957: Thurmond sets the Senate's filibuster record over a civil rights bill. The historic fillibuster went on for 24 hours and 18 minutes
• 1960: His wife Jean Crouch Thurmond dies.
• 1964: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act and Thurmond switches to the Republican Party
• 1968: Thurmond marries Nancy Moore, a 22-year-old former Miss South Carolina
• 1974: President Richard Nixon resigns from office as a result of the Watergate scandal
• 1980: Ronald Reagan is elected President of the United States.
• 1981: The Republican majority in the U.S. Senate makes Thurmond president pro tempore, placing him third in presidential succession
• 1991: The Soviet Union dissolves and Thurmond and wife Nancy separate
• 1996: Thurmond wins his eighth U.S. Senate election
• 1997: Thurmond celebrates his 94th birthday and becomes the oldest Senate member ever
• 1998: President Bill Clinton is impeached
  At the age of 95, Thurmond gives up chairmanship of the Senate Armed Services Committee
• December 5, 2002: Thurmond celebrates his 100th birthday, shortly thereafter he officially resigns from the Senate