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Submitted: 6/30/11 • Approved: 4/27/13 • Last Updated: 4/30/13 • R554011-G0-S3
MAJOR US Army
320 Infantry 35 Division
World War II
January 7, 1910 - December 14, 1994
36th Governor of Artkansas (Jan 11, 1955 - Jan 10, 1967)
Orval Eugene Faubus was born on January 7, 1910, in Combs, Arkansas, to Sam Faubus and Addie Joslen Faubus. In 1931 he married Celia Alta Haskins and the marriage ended in divorce by 1969. From this marriage he had one son, Farrel E. Faubus (Farrell committed suicide in 1976). Shortly after his divorce from Alta he married Elizabeth Westmoreland. Elizabeth, who had filed for divorce, was murdered in Houston, Texas. In 1986, he then married Jan Hines Wittenburg.
Faubus began his political career in 1936 where he contested a seat in the Arkansas House of Representatives, finishing in second place. He served two terms as circuit clerk and recorder for the Democratic Party. When the United States entered WWII he joined the US Army and served as an intelligence officer under General George Patton. In 1954, he won the Democratic gubernatorial nomination narrowly defeating Francis Cherry. He was elected governor of Arkansas in 1955. He was elected governor for six two-year terms and hence served for twelve years. He held the office longer than any other person. He tried to unsuccessfully reclaim the governor’s office in 1970, 1974 and 1986.
He is best known for his 1957 stand against the desegregation of Little Rock public schools during the Little Rock Crisis, in which he defied a unanimous decision of the United States Supreme Court by ordering the Arkansas National Guard to stop African American students from attending Little Rock Central High School. Because of Faubus’ decision to use the Arkansas National Guard it led to President Dwight D. Eisenhower to federalize the National Guard in 1957 which removed them from Faubus’ control. Then the National Guard was then ordered to protect the black students and enforce Federal court order. Faubus retaliated by shutting down the Little Rock High School during 1958 – 59 school year.
He died in Conway, Arkansas, from complications of prostate cancer.
Information Sources:
http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=102
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orval_Faubus
Contributed on 6/30/11 by nailgal123
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Record #: 554011