Sid McMath

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Sid McMath
34th Governor of Arkansas
In office January 11, 1949 – January 13, 1953
Lieutenant	Nathan Green Gordon
Preceded by	Benjamin Travis Laney
Succeeded by	Francis Cherry
Personal details
Born	Sidney Sanders McMath June 14, 1912 Magnolia, Arkansas, U.S.
Died	October 4, 2003(2003-10-04) (aged 91) Little Rock, Arkansas, U.S.
Resting place	Pinecrest Memorial Cemetery, Saline County, Arkansas, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Elaine Braughton ​ ​ (m. 1937; died 1942)​ Anne Phillips ​ ​ (m. 1944; died 1994)​ Betty Russell ​ (m. 1996)​
Profession	Attorney
Awards	Silver Star Legion of Merit See more
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	Marine Corps
Years of service	1936–1939 (reserve) 1940–1945 (active) 1946–1970 (reserve)
Rank	Major General
Commands	VTU 8–14 (1953–1964) 3d Marines (1942–1944) (Acting)
Battles/wars	World War II Asiatic-Pacific Campaign

Sidney Sanders McMath (June 14, 1912 – October 4, 2003) was a U.S. marine, attorney and the 34th governor of Arkansas from 1949 to 1953. In defiance of his state's political establishment, he championed rapid rural electrification, massive highway and school construction, the building of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, strict bank and utility regulation, repeal of the poll tax, open and honest elections and broad expansion of opportunity for black citizens in the decade following World War II.

McMath remained loyal to President Harry S. Truman during the "Dixiecrat" rebellion of 1948, campaigning throughout the South for Truman's re-election. As a former governor, McMath led the opposition to segregationist Governor Orval Faubus following the 1957 Little Rock school crisis. He later became one of the nation's foremost trial lawyers, representing thousands of injured persons in precedent-setting cases and mentoring several generations of young attorneys. At the time of his death, he was the earliest-serving former governor.^[1]