1946

 

Eugene Talmadge was again elected governor of Georgia, despite not winning the popular vote. But at the time Georgia's elections were based on the county unit system (see Further Information below), and Talmadge won the most county unit votes. But the grueling campaign, in which Talmdge traveled across the state delivering 272 speeches, was too much for his health, and he died before he could take office. Thus began one the most unusual episodes in Georgia's political history - the Three Governors Affair. See 1947 and Further Information below for details.

Melvin Thompson was elected to the newly created position of lieutenant governor.

Helen Douglas Mankin was elected to the U.S. Congress, becoming the second woman from Georgia to serve in that capacity, but really the first in a meaningful sense (see 1940).

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Primus E. King, an African American from Columbus, Georgia, could vote in the Georgia Democratic primary, after having been prohibited from voting in 1944. The court ruled this violated the 14th, 15th, and 17th amendments, and that Georgia's white primary was a state election in which the Democratic Party acted as an instrumentality of the state.

Walt Disney's Song of the South, based on the Uncle Remus stories of Georgia native Joel Chandler Harris, premiered at the Fox Theater in Atlanta.

A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta claimed 119 lives, including hotel founder W. Frank Winecoff and 28 high school students attending a conference, along with an additional 100 people injured.

Musician Duane Allman was born in Tennessee.

Future actor Demond Wilson was born in Valdosta, Georgia.

Further Information:

County Unit System article from the New Georgia Encyclopedia

Georgia's "Three Governors Affair"

Three Governors Controversy article from the New Georgia Encyclopedia

Melvin Thompson article from the New Georgia Encyclopedia

Eugene Talmadge Statue

Allman Brothers band article from the New Georgia Encyclopedia

See the following This Day in Georgia History Entries:

Jan.3(see 1947)		Jan.31	Feb.7
March6	March9	May1(see 1903)	July7
Oct.2(see 1910)		Oct.13	Nov.12
Nov.20		Dec.7	Dec.21

 

 

 

 

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