Lester Maddox
Lester Maddox | |
|---|---|
 Maddox in 1967 | |
| 75th Governor of Georgia | |
| In office January 10, 1967 – January 12, 1971 | |
| Lieutenant | George T. Smith |
| Preceded by | Carl Sanders |
| Succeeded by | Jimmy Carter |
| 7th Lieutenant Governor of Georgia | |
| In office January 12, 1971 – January 14, 1975 | |
| Governor | Jimmy Carter |
| Preceded by | George T. Smith |
| Succeeded by | Zell Miller |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lester Garfield Maddox September 30, 1915 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | June 25, 2003 (aged 87) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Resting place | Arlington Memorial Park Sandy Springs, Georgia, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
Other political affiliations | American Independent (1968, 1976) |
| Spouse |
Hattie Virginia Cox
(m. 1935; died 1997) |
| Children | 4 |
Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of Georgia from 1967 to 1971.
A populist Southern Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationist, when he refused to serve African-American customers in his Atlanta restaurant, the Pickrick, in violation of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. He was soon after elected governor in 1966. Ineligible to run for a second consecutive term in 1970, he sought and won election as lieutenant governor instead, serving alongside his successor as governor, Jimmy Carter. Maddox later ran for president in 1976 for the American Independent Party.