Bull Connor

Bull Connor
Connor in 1960
President of the Alabama Public Service Commission
In office January 18, 1965 – January 17, 1972
Preceded by	Jack Owen
Succeeded by	Kenneth Hammond
Birmingham Commissioner of Public Safety
In office 1957–1963
Preceded by	Robert Lindbergh
Succeeded by	Position abolished
In office 1937–1954
Preceded by	W. O. Downs
Succeeded by	Robert Lindbergh
Member of the Alabama House of Representatives
In office 1935–1937
Personal details
Born	Theophilus Eugene Connor (1897-07-11)July 11, 1897 Selma, Alabama, U.S.
Died	March 10, 1973(1973-03-10) (aged 75) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Other political affiliations	Dixiecrat
Spouse	Beara Levens[1]
Children	2

Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor (July 11, 1897 – March 10, 1973) was an American politician who served as Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, for more than two decades. A member of the Democratic Party, he strongly opposed the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Under the city commission government, Connor had responsibility for administrative oversight of the Birmingham Fire Department and the Birmingham Police Department,^[1] which also had their own chiefs.

As a white supremacist,^[2] Bull Connor enforced legal racial segregation and denied civil rights to black citizens, especially during 1963's Birmingham campaign led by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He is well known for directing the use of fire hoses and police attack dogs against civil rights activists, including against children supporting the protests.^[3] National media broadcast these tactics on television, horrifying much of the world. The outrages served as catalysts for major social and legal change in the Southern United States and contributed to passage by the United States Congress of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.