William B. Umstead

William Bradley Umstead (13 May 1895 – 7 November 1954) was a U.S. Senator and the Democratic governor of the state of North Carolina from 1953 to 1954.

Umstead was born in the northern Durham County town of Bahama in 1895. In 1916, Umstead earned a bachelor's degree in History from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and taught high school history for approximately one school year before enlisting in the Army after the U.S. entry into World War I. He served as an officer and saw combat in France; Umstead was discharged in 1919 as a first lieutenant. He almost immediately entered law school at Trinity College (today, Duke University). Umstead was a prosecutor for most of his legal career and served as the elected solicitor (today called District Attorney) for a five-county district from 1927 to 1933.

He served from 1933 to 1939 in the United States House of Representatives, choosing not to seek re-election in 1938. Umstead was appointed to fill a vacant United States Senate seat in 1946. Defeated for a Senate term of his own in 1948, Umstead ran for Governor in 1952 and won. However, on 8 January 1953, only two days after his inauguration, Umstead was crippled by a heart attack. He was constantly in ill health until his death nearly two full years afterwards, upon which he was succeeded as governor by Luther H. Hodges.^[1]

The North Carolina State Park: William B. Umstead State Park was named in his honor in 1966.^[2]

U.S. Senate
Preceded by Josiah William Bailey	U.S. senator (Class 2) from North Carolina 1946-1948 Served alongside: Clyde Roark Hoey	Succeeded by Joseph Melville Broughton
Political offices
Preceded by W. Kerr Scott	Governor of North Carolina 1953-1954	Succeeded by Luther H. Hodges

References

^ Some of the above information from biography by Seth Warner found at http://www.umstead.org/govum.html
^ History of William B. Umstead State Park: http://www.ils.unc.edu/parkproject/visit/wium/history.html

[1] Some of the above information from biography by Seth Warner found at http://www.umstead.org/govum.html

[2] History of William B. Umstead State Park: http://www.ils.unc.edu/parkproject/visit/wium/history.html

[1]

[2]

v t e United States senators from North Carolina
Class 2	Johnston Martin Franklin Turner Stokes Branch Brown Mangum Reid Bragg Abbott Ransom Butler Simmons Bailey Umstead Broughton F. P. Graham Smith Lennon Scott Jordan Helms Dole Hagan Tillis
Class 3	Hawkins Bloodworth Stone Franklin Stone Locke Macon Iredell Mangum Strange W. A. Graham Haywood Badger Biggs Clingman Pool Merrimon Vance Jarvis Pritchard Overman Morrison Reynolds Hoey Ervin Morgan East Broyhill Sanford Faircloth Edwards Burr Budd

v t e Governors and lieutenant governors of North Carolina
Governors	Caswell Nash Burke A. Martin Caswell Johnston A. Martin Spaight Sr. Ashe Davie Williams Turner Alexander Williams Stone Smith Hawkins Miller Branch Franklin Holmes Burton Iredell Owen Stokes Swain Spaight Jr. Dudley Morehead Graham Manly Reid Winslow Bragg Ellis Clark Vance Holden Worth Holden Caldwell Brogden Vance Jarvis Scales Fowle Holt Carr Russell Aycock Glenn Kitchin Craig Bickett Morrison McLean O. M. Gardner Ehringhaus Hoey Broughton Cherry W. K. Scott Umstead Hodges Sanford Moore R. W. Scott Holshouser Hunt J. G. Martin Hunt Easley Perdue McCrory Cooper Stein (elect)
Lieutenant governors	Caldwell Brogden Jarvis Robinson Stedman Holt Doughton Reynolds Turner Winston Newland Daughtridge O. M. Gardner Cooper Long Fountain Graham Horton Harris Ballentine Taylor Sr. Hodges Barnhardt Philpott R. W. Scott Taylor Jr. Hunt Green Jordan J. Gardner Wicker Perdue Dalton Forest Robinson Hunt (elect)