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In 1970, Austin was elected as the
Michigan Secretary of State, making him the first Black person to hold that position in any U.S. state and also the first elected to any statewide office in Michigan except for the Supreme Court. He became the longest-serving Secretary of State in Michigan history,
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In 1941, Austin founded the accounting firm of
Richard H Austin & Co, which later became Austin, Washington & Davenport. After becoming Secretary of State in 1970, he sold the firm, which in 1971 became George Johnson & Company and now operates as GJC CPAs & Advisors.
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In recognition of his service to traffic safety, Austin was placed on the
Michigan Transportation Hall of Honor in 1996, and the annual award of the Michigan Governor's Traffic Safety Advisory Commission was renamed for him. The Treasury Building in
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In 1939 Austin married Ida Dawson; they had a daughter. He died in
Detroit on April 20, 2001, at the age of 87, from a
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740:. Hillsdale, Michigan. The Associated Press. November 6, 1969. p. 10 – via Newspapers.com.
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During his tenure, Austin emphasized road safety, supporting the enactment of laws mandating use of
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was renamed to the
Richard H. Austin building by an act of the state legislature in 2005.
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in 1937, and in 1941 became the first Black certified public accountant in
Michigan.
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elected to the position, the first to win election to any statewide office in
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in
Michigan, he previously served from 1967 to 1971 as the first Black
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717:. UPI. September 30, 1964. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
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Austin unsuccessfully sought the
Democratic nomination for the
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He was elected the first Black Wayne County auditor in 1966.
217:(May 6, 1913 – April 20, 2001) was an American politician. A
550:"Richard H. Austin: Michigan Secretary of State, 1971-1994"
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Deaths from
Alzheimer's disease in the United States
659:"Murray who? Meet state office buildings' namesakes"
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385:serving until January 1, 1995, when he lost a
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316:Austin served as an elected delegate for the
287:, he was awarded an athletics scholarship to
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1291:African-American people in Michigan politics
19:For other people named Richard Austin, see
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779:"Sheriff Barely Wins Detroit Mayor's Post"
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66:January 1, 1971 – January 1, 1995
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1321:20th-century African-American politicians
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283:After graduating first in his class from
804:"Obituaries in the News: Richard Austin"
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657:Justin A. Hinkley (November 3, 2015) .
627:. Wayne State University Library System
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330:Michigan State Board of Equalization
260:Austin was born in Stouts Mountain,
245:auditor, and ran unsuccessfully for
1276:People from Cullman County, Alabama
504:"Richard Henry Austin (1913-2001)"
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1316:20th-century American politicians
1301:Cass Technical High School alumni
334:Wayne County Board of Supervisors
1326:African-American men in politics
1311:Secretaries of state of Michigan
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1007:Secretaries of State of Michigan
850:Agis Salpukas (August 5, 1976).
802:Merton Davies (April 21, 2001).
328:. In 1962 he also served on the
752:"Detroit: A Victory for Reason"
438:seat being vacated by retiring
297:Detroit Institute of Technology
21:Richard Austin (disambiguation)
958:Secretary of State of Michigan
710:"No Change In 5 Vote Recounts"
54:Secretary of State of Michigan
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225:from 1971 to 1995, the first
276:; as a child he worked as a
907:Michigan Secretary of State
733:"Austin Showing Impressive"
380:Michigan Secretary of State
239:certified public accountant
223:Michigan secretary of state
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826:"MI US Senate - D Primary"
621:"Richard H. Austin Papers"
586:The North Adams Transcript
285:Cass Technical High School
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458:. His papers are held at
387:re-election campagian bid
343:, he ran for Congress in
322:constitutional convention
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1296:Politicians from Detroit
888:Party political offices
738:The Hillsdale Daily News
256:Early life and education
446:Personal life and death
423:" law, a model for the
332:and was elected to the
324:that produced the 1962
293:business administration
42:Richard H. Austin, 1975
460:Wayne State University
312:Early political career
715:Lansing State Journal
688:GJC CPAs and Advisors
663:Lansing State Journal
326:Michigan Constitution
1266:American accountants
758:. September 19, 1969
320:6th District to the
215:Richard Henry Austin
145:Richard Henry Austin
555:. State of Michigan
456:Alzheimer's disease
303:Professional career
221:, he served as the
16:American politician
1281:Michigan Democrats
943:Political offices
856:The New York Times
806:. Associated Press
409:motorcycle helmets
405:child safety seats
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30:Richard H. Austin
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353:Democratic Party
289:Wayne University
268:. His father, a
247:mayor of Detroit
227:African American
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452:heart attack
449:
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374:Roman Gribbs
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349:John Conyers
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318:Wayne County
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171:(2001-04-20)
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114:Wayne County
102:Succeeded by
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1261:2001 deaths
1256:1913 births
861:December 2,
835:December 2,
810:December 2,
762:December 2,
693:December 2,
668:December 2,
631:December 2,
559:December 2,
513:December 2,
440:Philip Hart
436:U.S. Senate
421:Motor Voter
389:in 1994 to
368:he ran for
233:except the
155:May 6, 1913
90:Preceded by
83:John Engler
1250:Categories
1161:Fitzgerald
1141:Martindale
1038:Whittemore
962:1971–1994
903:Democratic
479:References
401:seat belts
391:Republican
270:coal miner
196:Ida Austin
187:Democratic
151:1913-05-06
1078:Spaulding
1018:Prichette
684:"History"
508:BlackPast
295:from the
278:bootblack
127:1967–1971
123:In office
62:In office
1156:Haggerty
1136:Prescott
1063:McKinney
1048:Redfield
1033:Eldredge
625:Archives
231:Michigan
219:Democrat
201:Children
71:Governor
1221:Johnson
1146:Vaughan
1127:Stearns
1123:Gardner
1113:Blacker
1083:Striker
1028:Rowland
1023:Manning
473:Lansing
351:in the
274:Detroit
266:Alabama
250:in 1969
159:Alabama
116:Auditor
1226:Benson
1211:Miller
1206:Austin
1196:Cleary
1186:Dignan
1171:Atwood
1151:DeLand
1131:Warner
1118:Jochim
1098:Conant
1093:Jenney
1088:Holden
1073:Porter
1068:Isbell
1058:Graves
1053:Taylor
466:Legacy
193:Spouse
178:, U.S.
161:, U.S.
1191:Alger
1181:Kelly
1166:Brown
1108:Soper
1103:Osmun
553:(PDF)
52:39th
1216:Land
1201:Hare
1176:Case
1043:Peck
929:1994
925:1990
921:1986
917:1982
913:1978
863:2021
837:2021
812:2021
764:2021
756:Time
695:2021
670:2021
633:2021
561:2021
515:2021
454:and
432:1976
415:and
403:and
366:1969
341:1964
166:Died
141:Born
430:In
396:.
364:In
339:In
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149:(
23:.
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