Strom Thurmond — SPARQNOW

At-a-Glance

Represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003.
Served as the 103rd governor of South Carolina from 1947 to 1951.
Completed the longest single-person Senate filibuster, at 24 hours and 18 minutes, against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
Chaired the Senate Judiciary Committee from 1981 to 1987 and the Senate Armed Services Committee from 1995 to 1999.
Ran for president in 1948 as the Dixiecrat candidate, receiving over a million votes and winning four states.
Served three times as President pro tempore of the United States Senate.

Biography

James Strom Thurmond Sr. was an American politician who represented South Carolina in the United States Senate from 1954 to 2003. Before his 47 years as a senator, he served as the 103rd governor of South Carolina from 1947 to 1951.

Thurmond was a member of the Democratic Party in the Senate until 1964 when he joined the Republican Party. He also ran for president in 1948 as the Dixiecrat candidate, receiving over a million votes and winning four states.