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358:, to Henry Jackson Thompson and his wife Eva Edenfield Thompson. He was the youngest of seven children and his father died just after his first birthday. His father was a sharecropper. Thompson grew up in poverty, but through hard work and determination, he was able to leave the farm to pursue a higher education. He helped pay his way through college by working various jobs, including student teaching and the selling of bibles door to door. He graduated from
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408:. Thompson felt that as the Lieutenant Governor-elect, he should become the Governor. But the state legislature was controlled by Talmadge supporters. They invoked a clause in the Georgia state constitution which allowed for the legislature to pick between the second- and third-place candidates. The people who finished second and third were two write-in candidates, James V. Carmichael and Eugene's son,
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Melvin Ernest
Thompson married Dora Anne Newton, from Millen, Georgia, in 1926, and had one child, Melvin E. Thompson Jr., Melvin E. Thompson Jr. married Mary Bathsheba Carter and they had four children, Marianne Thea, Tarkenton Newton, Carter Maria and Melvin E. the 3rd. Melvin Jr. had a fifth child
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in 1935. He also earned all of the credits for a Ph.D. from the
University of Georgia, but because his adviser died, he never defended his dissertation. Following his college career, Thompson worked in education, first as a teacher and coach, a principal, a district superintendent, moving all the way
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In 2013 the
Georgia Legislature by House Resolution 47 By: Representatives Shaw of the 176th, Carter of the 175th, Black of the 174th, Sharper of the 177th, and Houston of the 170th named a portion of Interstate 75 in Lowndes County from the West Hill Avenue exit to the North Valdosta Road exit is
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ruled that
Thompson was the legitimate governor and that the legislature had violated the state constitution by selecting Talmadge. Thompson's numerous achievements as the
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Thompson unsuccessfully opposed
Talmadge three additional times, twice in gubernatorial elections in 1950 and 1954 and finally in 1956 for one of Georgia's
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and was hired as his
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Thompson and Arnall both claimed the office of governor. Arnall later renounced his claim to support
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include much needed improvements to highway infrastructure, public education, and the purchase of
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Thompson delivering his claim to the governorship to the press during the 1947 controversy
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up to assistant school superintendent for the state. Thompson was a supporter of
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dedicated as the
Governor Melvin Ernest Thompson Memorial Highway..
322:(May 1, 1903 – October 3, 1980) was an American educator and
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was vague on who would be sworn in as governor, causing the
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Stuart A. Rose
Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library
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In 1946, Thompson ran for the newly created position of
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with his second wife Laura Mitchell, Charles Thompson.
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60:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
1542:Democratic Party governors of Georgia (U.S. state)
540:M.E. Thompson and the Purchase of Jekyll Island
342:from 1947 to 1948 and was elected as the first
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452:seats. In the mid-1950s, Thompson moved to
169:March 18, 1947 – November 17, 1948
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212:January 14, 1947 – March 18, 1947
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120:Learn how and when to remove this message
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512:: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (
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58:adding citations to reliable sources
400:died on December 21, 1946, and the
297:McLane Riverview Memorial Gardens,
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1572:20th-century American politicians
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1431:Lieutenant governors of Georgia
550:M.E. Thompson papers, 1946-1954
45:needs additional citations for
27:American politician (1903–1980)
612:Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
582:Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
394:Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
388:Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
344:Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
200:Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
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1567:People from Valdosta, Georgia
1552:University of Georgia alumni
1562:People from Millen, Georgia
406:three governors controversy
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350:Early life and education
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320:Melvin Ernest Thompson
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368:University of Georgia
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69:"Melvin E. Thompson"
54:improve this article
639:Governor of Georgia
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110:December 2009
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65:Find sources:
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43:This article
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32:
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771:George Wells
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535:Find a Grave
497:. Retrieved
490:the original
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373:Ellis Arnall
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282:(1980-10-03)
226:Succeeded by
207:
187:Succeeded by
180:Ellis Arnall
164:
116:
107:
97:
90:
83:
76:
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52:Please help
47:verification
44:
1537:1980 deaths
1532:1903 births
1275:H. Talmadge
1261:H. Talmadge
1247:E. Talmadge
1233:E. Talmadge
1177:J. M. Brown
1156:J. M. Brown
1037:J. E. Brown
260:May 1, 1903
175:Preceded by
1526:Categories
1044:J. Johnson
1030:H. Johnson
606:New Office
578:Democratic
499:2009-04-19
469:References
332:U.S. state
324:politician
308:Democratic
256:1903-05-01
80:newspapers
1324:J. Harris
1191:N. Harris
346:in 1946.
208:In office
165:In office
1452:Vandiver
1442:Thompson
1388:Category
1289:Vandiver
1268:Thompson
1205:Hardwick
1163:H. Smith
1149:H. Smith
1128:Atkinson
1107:McDaniel
1093:Stephens
1086:Colquitt
1079:J. Smith
1009:Crawford
1002:McDonald
932:Mitchell
918:Mitchell
904:Milledge
897:Tattnall
820:Houstoun
799:Brownson
743:Cuthbert
736:Glascock
729:Houstoun
722:Treutlen
715:Gwinnett
508:cite web
287:Valdosta
217:Governor
1447:Griffin
1296:Sanders
1282:Griffin
1226:Russell
1219:Hardman
1142:Terrell
1135:Candler
1121:Northen
1100:Boynton
1065:Bullock
1051:Jenkins
981:Lumpkin
967:Forsyth
890:Emanuel
883:Jackson
869:Mathews
862:Telfair
848:Handley
841:Mathews
834:Telfair
708:Bulloch
696:present
336:Georgia
330:in the
267:Georgia
94:scholar
1497:Duncan
1487:Taylor
1482:Howard
1477:Miller
1472:Maddox
1345:Perdue
1338:Barnes
1331:Miller
1317:Busbee
1310:Carter
1303:Maddox
1254:Arnall
1240:Rivers
1212:Walker
1198:Dorsey
1184:Slaton
1170:Slaton
1114:Gordon
1072:Conley
995:Gilmer
988:Schley
974:Gilmer
946:Talbot
855:Walton
827:Elbert
806:Martin
792:Davies
757:Walton
750:Wereat
379:Family
328:Millen
263:Millen
96:
89:
82:
75:
67:
1502:Jones
1492:Cagle
1467:Smith
1058:Ruger
1016:Towns
960:Troup
953:Clark
939:Rabun
925:Early
911:Irwin
876:Irwin
785:Heard
764:Howly
694:1777–
616:1947
586:1946
572:First
493:(PDF)
486:(PDF)
326:from
155:70th
101:JSTOR
87:books
1462:Geer
1457:Byrd
1359:Kemp
1352:Deal
1023:Cobb
813:Hall
514:link
277:Died
271:U.S.
246:Born
198:1st
73:news
533:at
334:of
56:by
1528::
510:}}
506:{{
269:,
265:,
1423:e
1416:t
1409:v
678:e
671:t
664:v
516:)
502:.
258:)
254:(
123:)
117:(
112:)
108:(
98:·
91:·
84:·
77:·
50:.
20:)
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