Thomas A. Wofford

Thomas Albert Wofford
Thomas Albert Wofford
United States Senator; from South Carolina
	In office; April 5, 1956 – November 6, 1956
Appointed by	George Bell Timmerman, Jr.
Preceded by	Strom Thurmond
Succeeded by	Strom Thurmond
Member of the South Carolina Senate; from the 3rd District
	In office; January 10, 1967 – December 28, 1972
Personal details
Born	September 27, 1908; Laurens County, South Carolina
Died	February 25, 1978 (aged 69); Greenville, South Carolina
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic (until 1966); Republican (1966-death)

Thomas Albert Wofford (September 27, 1908 – February 25, 1978) was a United States Senator from South Carolina. Born in Madden Station, Laurens County, South Carolina, he attended the public schools and graduated from the University of South Carolina at Columbia in 1928, and from Harvard University Law School in 1931. He was admitted to the bar in the latter year and commenced the practice of law in Greenville. He was assistant solicitor of the thirteenth judicial circuit from 1935 to 1936, and was assistant United States district attorney from 1937 to 1944.

In 1947, Wofford defended the 31 white men charged with the Lynching of Willie Earle in Greenville, South Carolina.[1] The trial was highly publicized, and resulted in all of the defendants being acquitted of murder despite many of them having signed confessions.[2]

He was a member of the board of trustees of Winthrop College from 1944 to 1956. Wofford also was a delegate to the 1948 Democratic National Convention from South Carolina.

Wofford was appointed on April 5, 1956 as a Democrat to the US Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Strom Thurmond and served from April 5, 1956, to November 6, 1956; he was not a candidate for election to fill the vacancy, and engaged in the practice of law. He was a member of the South Carolina Senate from 1966 to 1972, and changed party affiliation to Republican. He resided in Greenville, and died there in 1978; interment was in Woodlawn Memorial Park.

References

West, Rebecca. "A Lynching Trial in Greenville". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-05-19.
Gravely, William B. (2019-03-05). They Stole Him Out of Jail: Willie Earle, South Carolina's Last Lynching Victim. Univ of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-61117-938-5.

United States Congress. "Thomas A. Wofford (id: W000666)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

U.S. Senate
Preceded by Strom Thurmond	U.S. senator (Class 2) from South Carolina April 5, 1956 – November 6, 1956 Served alongside: Olin Johnston	Succeeded by Strom Thurmond

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[1] West, Rebecca. "A Lynching Trial in Greenville". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2020-05-19.

[2] Gravely, William B. (2019-03-05). They Stole Him Out of Jail: Willie Earle, South Carolina's Last Lynching Victim. Univ of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-61117-938-5.

United States senators from South Carolina
Class 2	P. Butler Hunter Pinckney Sumter Taylor W. Smith R. Hayne Calhoun Huger Calhoun Elmore Barnwell Rhett De Saussure Evans A. Hayne Chesnut Robertson M. Butler Tillman Benet Pollock Dial Blease Byrnes Lumpkin Peace Maybank Daniel Thurmond Wofford Thurmond Graham
Class 3	Izard Read Colhoun P. Butler Gaillard Harper W. Smith Miller Preston McDuffie A. Butler Hammond Sawyer Patterson Hampton Irby Earle McLaurin Latimer Gary E. Smith Hall Johnston Russell Hollings DeMint Scott