Bibb Graves
| David Bibb Graves | |
|---|---|
David Bibb Graves
|
|
| 38th Governor of Alabama | |
|
In office January 17, 1927 – January 19, 1931 |
|
| Lieutenant | William C. Davis |
| Preceded by | William W. Brandon |
| Succeeded by | Benjamin M. Miller |
|
In office January 14, 1935 – January 17, 1939 |
|
| Lieutenant | Thomas E. Knight |
| Preceded by | Benjamin M. Miller |
| Succeeded by | Frank M. Dixon |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
April 1, 1873 Hope Hull, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | March 14, 1942 (aged 68) Sarasota, Florida, U.S. |
| Resting place | Greenwood Cemetery |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Dixie Bibb Graves |
| Alma mater |
University of Alabama, Yale Law School |
| Profession | Teacher, lawyer |
| Religion | Christian |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
David Bibb Graves (April 1, 1873 – March 14, 1942) was a Democratic politician and the 38th Governor of Alabama 1927-1931 and 1935–1939, the first Alabama governor to serve two four-year terms.
Graves was born in Hope Hull, Alabama, son of David and Mattie Bibb Graves and a descendant of Alabama's first governor William Wyatt Bibb. Graves' father died when he was one year old, and he was reared first by his paternal grandfather on an Alabama farm and then by an uncle in Texas. Graves attended the University of Alabama, where he was a member of the school's inaugural football team. After graduating with a degree in civil engineering (1893), Graves earned a degree from Yale Law School (1896). Graves was then elected to the Alabama legislature and later served as the city attorney in Montgomery.
As adjutant general of the Alabama National Guard, he helped organize the 1st Alabama Cavalry and served on the Mexican border in 1916. In World War I, Graves commanded as a colonel the 117th U.S. Field Artillery in France, and upon his return to Alabama, he helped organize the state section of the American Legion.
Graves lost his first campaign for governor in 1922, but four years later, with the secret endorsement of the Ku Klux Klan, he was elected to his first term as governor. Almost certainly Graves was the Exalted Cyclops (chapter president) of the Montgomery chapter of the Klan, but both Graves and U.S. Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, another Alabama Klan member, were more opportunists than ideologues, politicians who used the temporary strength of the Klan to further their careers. After receiving solid gold "passports" from the Klan, Graves and Black were collectively known in some Alabama circles as "The Gold Dust Twins."
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