Winston M. Blount | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 62ndUnited States Postmaster General | |
| In office January 22, 1969 – January 1, 1972 | |
| President | Richard Nixon |
| Preceded by | W. Marvin Watson |
| Succeeded by | E. T. Klassen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Winton Malcolm Blount (1921-02-01)February 1, 1921 Union Springs, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | October 24, 2002(2002-10-24) (aged 81) |
| Party | Republican |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Army |
| Unit | United States Army Air Forces |
| Battles/wars | World War II |
Winton Malcolm Blount, known asRed Blount (February 1, 1921 – October 24, 2002), was an American philanthropist and politician who served as theUnited States Postmaster General from January 22, 1969, to January 1, 1972. He founded and served as thechief executive officer of the large construction company, Blount International, based inMontgomery, Alabama.
Blount was the last postmaster general when the position was within thepresidential Cabinet.
Born inUnion Springs, Alabama, Blount served in theUnited States Army Air Forces duringWorld War II, having trained as aB-29 pilot. However, the war ended before his training was completed. Blount's first name was spelled with a "y" on his birth certificate, but he used Winton as an adult in his business dealings to avoid having to explain the unusual spelling.[1]
In 1946, Blount and his brother William Houston Blount started a building contractor company, Blount Brothers. The company worked on such construction projects as the First Avenue Viaduct inBirmingham, theLouisiana Superdome inNew Orleans, andCape Canaveral's Complex 39A which launchedApollo 11 inFlorida.
In 1952, Blount was appointed the Alabama Chairman ofCitizens for Eisenhower, then in 1960 Southeastern Campaign Chairman forRichard M. Nixon's unsuccessful presidential campaign againstJohn F. Kennedy. In 1961, Blount was elected President of the Alabama Chamber of Commerce; in 1968, President of theUnited States Chamber of Commerce.
In 1964, Blount was appointed byU.S. PresidentLyndon B. Johnson to the National Citizens Committee for Community Relations to advise the White House on the enforcement of the newCivil Rights Act of 1964 even though Blount had expressed doubts about the new law.
In 1969, Blount was appointed as the Postmaster General by U.S. President Richard Nixon, and he supervised the transition in 1971 of theU.S. Post Office Department from a Cabinet-level department of the U.S. government to a special independent executive agency. He was thus the last Cabinet-level Postmaster General, and he served as the first director of the new U.S. Postal Service. Blount's assistant Postmaster General wasJames M. Henderson.[2]
In 1971, Blount's profile was depicted alongside that ofBenjamin Franklin's on the face of a silver proof coin commemorating the inauguration of the new Postal Service. The commemorative coin was offered in a carrier with one stamp bearing aPhiladelphia postmark from the old Post Office, and another fromWashington D.C., placed by the new Postal Service.
Blount faced in thegeneral election the long-term incumbent Democrat,John Sparkman, who had been the 1952 Democratic candidate forvice president against Richard M. Nixon. From May 1972 to November 1972,George W. Bush transferred from theTexas Air National Guard to serve as the political director in Blount's campaign.
The final results were Sparkman 654,491 (65.3 percent) to Blount's 347,523 (34.7 percent).[3] Blount carried only traditionally RepublicanWinston andHouston counties and lost his home county ofMontgomery.
In 1973, Blount returned to Blount International, Inc., becoming its president once again in 1974. From 1981 to 1984 Blount, Inc., built theKing Saud University inRiyadh, Saudi Arabia.
In 1980, Blount served as national chairman ofJohn Connally's unsuccessful primary campaign, with the nomination being won byRonald W. Reagan ofCalifornia.
In 1996, the Greenwich Publishing Group published his autobiography calledDoing It My Way, which he had co-written with Richard Blodgett.
In 1999, Blount International, Inc., was sold toLehman Brothers company for $1.35 billion.
Blount died inHighlands, North Carolina, at the age of eighty-one.
Blount and his wife Carolyn, were philanthropists and notable patrons of the arts. Together they founded the Blount Cultural Park[4] in Montgomery, which is home to theMontgomery Museum of Fine Arts and theAlabama Shakespeare Festival. The Blounts donated the land and a 100,000 square foot theater as the new home of the Alabama Shakespeare Festival in 1985. The cost was $21.5 million and at the time was the largest private donation to an American theater.
In 1980, Blount received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement.[5]
The Winton M. Blount Elementary School in Montgomery County, completed in 2003, is named in his honor. Located on the city's rapidly growing east side, it is one of the largest elementary schools in the region.
The Blount Undergraduate Initiative, a liberal arts honors program for Blount Scholars, was started at theUniversity of Alabama. Blount Scholars reside in the Blount Living Learning Center on the campus.
The Winton M. Blount Center for Postal Studies and the Winton M. Blount Research Chair, both at the SmithsonianNational Postal Museum, were founded with an endowment from the Blount estate.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | United States Postmaster General 1969–1972 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromAlabama (Class 2) 1972 | Vacant Title next held by Albert L. Smith Jr. |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
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