Buford Ellington
| Buford Ellington | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 42nd Governor of Tennessee | |
|
In office January 16, 1967 – January 16, 1971 |
|
| Lieutenant | Frank Gorrell |
| Preceded by | Frank G. Clement |
| Succeeded by | Winfield Dunn |
|
In office January 19, 1959 – January 15, 1963 |
|
| Lieutenant | William D. Baird |
| Preceded by | Frank G. Clement |
| Succeeded by | Frank G. Clement |
| Member of the Tennessee House of Representatives | |
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In office 1948–1959 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Earl Buford Ellington June 27, 1907 Holmes County, Mississippi |
| Died | April 3, 1972 (aged 64) Boca Raton, Florida |
| Resting place | Lone Oak Cemetery Lewisburg, Tennessee |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Catherine Ann Cheek |
| Occupation | Farmer |
Earl Buford Ellington (June 27, 1907 – April 3, 1972) was an American politician who served as Governor of Tennessee from 1959 to 1963, and again from 1967 to 1971. Along with his political ally, Frank G. Clement, he helped lead a political machine that controlled the governor's office for 18 years, from 1953 to 1971. Ellington was also a supporter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, and worked as the Director of the Office of Emergency Planning during the Johnson Administration in 1965.
Ellington was born in Holmes County, Mississippi, the son of Abner and Cora (Grantham) Ellington. He studied religion at Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, but eventually had to drop out due to financial difficulties. He edited a newspaper in Durant, Mississippi, for a brief period. In 1929, he married Catherine Ann Cheek, and moved to Cheek's native Marshall County, Tennessee, where he bought a store in the Verona community. He worked as a salesman for American Harvester in the 1930s, and was a supervising salesman with Tennessee Farm Bureau Insurance in the early 1940s.
In 1944, Ellington worked in the campaign of successful gubernatorial candidate, Jim Nance McCord. Two years later, he was the Marshall County manager for Congressman Joe L. Evins's campaign. In 1948, Ellington was elected to Marshall County's seat in the Tennessee House of Representatives.
In 1952, Ellington managed the successful campaign of Frank Clement, who defeated incumbent Gordon Browning in the Democratic primary for governor, and went on to win the general election. Clement's campaign had the support of Memphis political boss E. H. Crump, who was seeking to regain the influence he had lost after Browning defeated his candidate, McCord, four years earlier. Clement appointed Ellington Commissioner of Agriculture, a position in which he would remain until the late 1950s.
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