William B. Umstead

William Bradley Umstead
United States Senator from North Carolina
In office December 18, 1946 – December 30, 1948
Appointed by	R. Gregg Cherry
Preceded by	Josiah Bailey
Succeeded by	J. Melville Broughton
63rd Governor of North Carolina
In office January 8, 1953 – November 7, 1954
Lieutenant	Luther H. Hodges
Preceded by	W. Kerr Scott
Succeeded by	Luther H. Hodges
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina's 6th district
In office March 4, 1933 – January 3, 1939
Preceded by	J. Bayard Clark
Succeeded by	Carl T. Durham
Personal details
Born	May 13, 1895 Mangum Township, Durham County, North Carolina
Died	November 7, 1954 (aged 59) Durham, North Carolina
Resting place	Mount Tabor Church Cemetery Durham, North Carolina
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Trinity College
Profession	Law
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1917–1918
Rank	First Lieutenant
Battles/wars	World War I

William Bradley Umstead (May 13, 1895 – November 7, 1954) was an American Senator and the 63rd Governor of the state of North Carolina from 1953 to 1954.

He was born in the northern Durham County town of Bahama in 1895. In 1916, Umstead earned a bachelor's degree in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he was a member of the Philanthropic Society.

Umstead taught high school history for approximately one school year before joining the army after the U.S. entry into World War I. He served as an officer and saw combat in France; Umstead was discharged in 1919 as a first lieutenant. He almost immediately entered law school at Trinity College (today, Duke University). Umstead was a prosecutor for most of his legal career and served as the elected solicitor (today called district attorney) for a five-county district from 1927 to 1933.

He served from 1933 to 1939 in the United States House of Representatives, choosing not to seek re-election in 1938. Umstead was chairman of the North Carolina Democratic Party for several years until he was appointed to fill a vacant United States Senate seat in 1946. Defeated for a Senate term of his own in 1948, Umstead ran for governor in 1952 and won. However, on 10 January 1953, only two days after his inauguration, Umstead was crippled by a heart attack.

In June, 1954, Umstead appointed Sam Ervin to fill the U.S. Senate seat of Clyde Hoey, who had died in office.

He was constantly in ill health until his death nearly two years after his 1953 heart attack, upon which he was succeeded as governor by Luther H. Hodges. Umstead is buried in the Mount Tabor Church Cemetery in Durham, North Carolina.

William B. Umstead State Park in Raleigh, North Carolina was named in his honor in 1966.

External links

• East Carolina University Icons Gallery profile