Colgate Darden | |
|---|---|
 Dardenc. 1957-58 | |
| 3rd President of the University of Virginia | |
| In office June 23, 1947 – September 1, 1959 | |
| Preceded by | John Lloyd Newcomb |
| Succeeded by | Edgar F. Shannon Jr. |
| 54th Governor of Virginia | |
| In office January 21, 1942 – January 16, 1946 | |
| Lieutenant | William M. Tuck |
| Preceded by | James H. Price |
| Succeeded by | William M. Tuck |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's2nd district | |
| In office January 3, 1939 – March 1, 1941 | |
| Preceded by | Norman R. Hamilton |
| Succeeded by | Winder R. Harris |
| In office January 3, 1935 – January 3, 1937 | |
| Preceded by | District re-established Menalcus Lankford before district abolished in 1933 |
| Succeeded by | Norman R. Hamilton |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia'sat-large district | |
| In office March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1935 | |
| Preceded by | District re-established John S. Wise before district abolished in 1885 |
| Succeeded by | District abolished |
| Member of theVirginia House of Delegates fromNorfolk City | |
| In office January 8, 1930 – January 11, 1933 | |
| Preceded by | Sarah Lee Fain |
| Succeeded by | Richard W. Ruffin |
| 18thChancellor of the College of William & Mary | |
| In office 1946–1947 | |
| Preceded by | John Stewart Bryan (1944) |
| Succeeded by | Alvin Duke Chandler (1962) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Colgate Whitehead Darden Jr. (1897-02-11)February 11, 1897 Southampton County, nearFranklin, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | June 9, 1981(1981-06-09) (aged 84) Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Beechwood Plantation,Southampton County, Virginia, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Constance Simons Du Pont |
| Children | Colgate, III, Pierre, Irene |
| Alma mater | University of Virginia (AB) Columbia University (LLB) Oxford University |
| Profession | Lawyer,Politician,Educator |
| Awards | French Croix de guerre |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States France |
| Branch/service | French Army United States Marine Corps |
| Years of service | 1916-1919 |
| Rank | Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Colgate Whitehead Darden Jr. (February 11, 1897 – June 9, 1981) was an American lawyer andDemocratic politician aligned with theByrd Organization who served asU.S. Representative fromVirginia (1933–37, 1939–41), the54th Governor of Virginia (1942–46),Chancellor of the College of William and Mary (1946–47), and the third President of theUniversity of Virginia (1947–59). TheDarden Graduate School of Business Administration of the University of Virginia is named for him.
Darden was born on Marle Hill,[1] a farm inSouthampton County,Virginia,[2] nearFranklin, to Katherine Lawrence (Pretlow) Darden (1870–1936), a school teacher and Colgate Whitehead Darden (1867–1945) a farmer and businessman. His ancestors had lived in Southampton County for generations, Darden's Tavern had figured inNat Turner's Rebellion.[3]
Darden grew up on the family farm and attended the local public schools. He studied at theUniversity of Virginia for two years beginning in 1914. In 1916 Darden volunteered to serve in the French Army before the United States entered World War I and became an ambulance driver with an ambulance corps of the American Field Service in France. He contractedmalaria in the trenches nearVerdun and returned to the United States in 1917 to recover and enlisted in theUnited States Marine Corps after the United States declared war on Germany. He was commissioned a lieutenant, earned his pilot's wings and became a Marine aviator duringWorld War I. A couple of weeks before thearmistice that ended the war, he was seriously injured in an airplane crash and was hospitalized for 10 months.[4][5] After the war he returned to UVA, where he was a member ofPhi Gamma Delta fraternity, and graduated in 1922 before going on toColumbia Law School (graduated 1923) and thenOxford University.
On December 3, 1927, Darden married Constance Simons du Pont, a daughter ofIrénée du Pont, of the wealthy du Pont chemical-manufacturing family inWilmington, Delaware.
Admitted to the Virginiabar, Darden began his legal practice inNorfolk, Virginia. He became active in the local Democratic party and aligned with theByrd Organization. In 1929, Darden won his first election, becoming one of Norfolk's four (part-time) representatives to theVirginia House of Delegates. He also won re-election and served alongside Daniel Coleman,Vivian L. Page and Wilson W. Vellines from 1930 to 1933, when Darden resigned because of his election to Congress.[6] Ralph H. Daughton and Richard W. Ruffin replaced Darden and the deceased Vellines in the special election for the vacancies.
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In 1932, Darden won election as a Democrat in anAt-large election to select Virginia'sU.S. Representatives to the73rd Congress. The Byrd Organization controlling the Virginia legislature had switched from an election by congressional districts to an at-large method that year in order to unseat RepublicanMenalcus Lankford, who represented the2nd district, and thus Democrats swept all Virginia's congressional seats in that election.[6] Darden won re-election two years later, this time representing the2nd district in the74th Congress, and served from March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1937. Norfolk port official and Portsmouth publisherNorman R. Hamilton unseated Darden in the Democratic primary in 1936, so he did not serve in the75th Congress, but defeated Hamilton in the next Democratic primary and thus won re-election in 1938 and 1940 to the76th and77th Congresses. Thus he served from January 3, 1939 – March 1, 1941, when Darden resigned to run for Governor of Virginia.
While in Congress, as a Byrd Organization loyalist, Darden supported the Dies Committee (predecessor of theHouse Unamerican Activities committee) and opposed federalanti-lynching legislation in 1940 (though he supported Virginia legislation concerning the same crime). Darden also supported loans to European allies as early as 1939, before the United States entered World War II.[7]
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Darden was elected Governor of Virginia with 80.72% of the vote, defeating RepublicanBenjamin Muse, Communist Alice Burke, and Socialist M. Hilliard Bernstein. Inaugurated on January 21, 1942, Darden served until January 16, 1946.As governor, Darden reorganized Virginia's civil defense duringWorld War II, reformed Virginia's penal system, and created a pension plan for state employees and teachers. He also eliminated the state debt (a core value of the Byrd organization) and created a surplus which was allocated to vocational schools, colleges, hospitals and other public services (including electrification of all Virginia educational institutions). However, Darden's record on race relations reflected the Byrd organization'ssegregationist values: blacks would receive financial help to study atMeharry Medical College in Tennessee (since Virginia medical schools remained only for whites) and he called to remove legislative obstacles to blacks serving on juries.[8] Governor Darden also refused to overturn the firing of several black educators following the 1940 federal equal pay decision inAlston v School Board of Norfolk.[9]
Darden was elected president of the University of Virginia in 1947, despite public misgivings from some among the university faculty, who resented his lack of faculty experience, and some students who feared that he planned to abolish the fraternity system at the university. The latter concern had its origin in Darden's actions as Governor of Virginia, where he recommended barring students at the College of William and Mary from living in fraternity or sorority houses on the grounds that it was "undemocratic" and placed undue financial burden on parents. While Darden did not impose similar restrictions at Virginia, he did attempt to implement other measures, such as a ban on first year rushing.[10]
While Darden favored admitting African Americans to professional and graduate schools after the Supreme Court mandated such, he otherwise shared the "separate but equal" stance of many white Southerners of the pre-Brown v. Board of Education (1954) era. In 1950 Darden advocated that public schools remain, in his words, racially "segregated," but "first-rate."[11] In that year, following federal litigation, Gregory Swanson became the first black student admitted to theUniversity of Virginia School of Law.[12] Darden also testified as a witness favoring segregation inDavis v. County School Board of Prince Edward County, one of the companion cases toBrown, and JudgeAlbert Bryan, in the 3-judge decision upholding the unequal schools which the Supreme Court reversed, specifically cited Darden's testimony as influential.[13][14] In August 1954, Darden also addressed a Ruritan gathering in Southampton and warned about the white race being only a tiny fraction of the population.[15]
At Virginia, Darden was responsible for erection of the student union building, named Newcomb Hall for his predecessorJohn Lloyd Newcomb; the establishment of the Judiciary Committee (which handled student misconduct that did not rise to the level of anhonor offense); the creation of the graduate school of business administration (named in his memory) and significant improvements to faculty salaries. Upon his retirement, he was presented with the Thomas Jefferson Award and theRaven Award.[16]
PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower appointed Darden as a U.S. delegate to theUnited Nations General Assembly in 1955, as he broke with the Byrd Organization'sMassive Resistance policy.
Darden died in 1981 at his home inNorfolk, Virginia.[17] He was buried in the family plot with his parents. In addition to his wife, he was survived by his younger brother Joshua Pretlow Darden, who had served as Norfolk's mayor (1949–50). Darden is memorialized with a historic marker at the site of his birth.[1]
Darden enjoyed a close friendship with Tidewater resident Barham Gary, whose sister, writerMyra Page, referred to Darden by the nickname "Clukey." His nephew (Joshua Darden) went on to be the rector at UVA, as well as head of the board. Joshua has two daughters; Audrey and Holley Darden.[18]
In 1955, the graduate school of business administration at the University of Virginia was named for Darden.[19]
In 1968, the Board of Visitors ofOld Dominion University voted to rename its school of education the Darden School of Education after Darden, who was a strong advocate for education in Virginia during his term as governor. In 1986 the school became the Darden College of Education.[20]
Darden Hall, a 35,000 square foot building on the campus ofUVA Wise is named in honor of Darden who as president of UVA was instrumental in the founding of the college. Darden Hall houses computer and mathematics laboratories, classrooms, the Technical Assistance Center and faculty offices.[21]
The Darden Society, the oldest and most prestigious honor society at UVA Wise, is named for Darden. Students are selected for membership on the basis of scholarly achievement and intellectual promise.
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
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| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Virginia 1941 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by District re-established John S. Wise before district abolished in 1885 | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's at-large congressional seat 1933–1935 | Succeeded by District abolished |
| Preceded by District re-established Menalcus Lankford before district abolished in 1933 | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 2nd congressional district 1935–1937 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Norman R. Hamilton | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromVirginia's 2nd congressional district 1937–1941 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Virginia 1942–1946 | Succeeded by |
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