Lawrence Wetherby

Lawrence Wetherby
48th Governor of Kentucky
In office
November 27, 1950 – December 13, 1955
LieutenantEmerson Beauchamp
Preceded byEarle Clements
Succeeded byA. B. "Happy" Chandler
40th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky
In office
December 9, 1947 – November 27, 1950
GovernorEarle Clements
Preceded byKenneth H. Tuggle
Succeeded byEmerson Beauchamp
Member of the Kentucky Senate
from the 20th district
In office
January 1, 1966 – January 1, 1970
Preceded byMarvin Edwards
Succeeded byMack G. Walters
Personal details
Born
Lawrence Winchester Wetherby

(1908-01-02)January 2, 1908
Middletown, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedMarch 27, 1994(1994-03-27) (aged 86)
Frankfort, Kentucky, U.S.
Resting placeFrankfort Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseHelen Dwyer
Alma materUniversity of Louisville (LLB)
ProfessionLawyer

Lawrence Winchester Wetherby (January 2, 1908 – March 27, 1994) was an American politician who served as Lieutenant Governor and Governor of Kentucky. He was the first of only two governors in state history born in Jefferson County, despite the fact that Louisville (the county seat) is the state's most populous city. The second governor born in Jefferson County is the incumbent governor, Andy Beshear.

After graduating from the University of Louisville, Wetherby held several minor offices in the Jefferson County judicial system before being elected lieutenant governor in 1947. He was called Kentucky's first "working" lieutenant governor because Governor Earle C. Clements asked him to carry out duties beyond his constitutional responsibility to preside over the state Senate, such as preparing the state budget and attending the Southern Governors Conference. In 1950, Clements resigned to assume a seat in the U.S. Senate, elevating Wetherby to governor. Wetherby won immediate acclaim by calling a special legislative session to increase funding for education and government benefits from the state's budget surplus. In 1951, he won a four-year full term as governor, during which he continued and expanded many of Clements' programs, including increased road construction and industrial diversification. He endorsed the Supreme Court's 1954 desegregation order in the case of Brown v. Board of Education and appointed a biracial commission to oversee the successful integration of the state's schools. As chairman of the Southern Governors Conference in 1954 and 1955, he encouraged other southern governors to accept and implement desegregation.

Limited to one term by the state constitution, Wetherby supported Bert Combs to be his successor, but Combs lost in the Democratic primary to A. B. "Happy" Chandler, a former governor and factional opponent of both Wetherby and Clements. Chandler's failure to support Wetherby's 1956 bid to succeed Democrat Alben Barkley in the Senate contributed to his loss to Republican John Sherman Cooper. From 1964 to 1966, Wetherby served on a commission charged with revising the state constitution, and in 1965 he was elected to the Kentucky Senate, where he provided leadership in drafting the state budget. Following this, he retired from politics and served as a consultant for Brighton Engineering. Wetherby died on March 27, 1994, of complications from a broken hip and was buried in Frankfort Cemetery in Frankfort, Kentucky.