Carl D. Perkins
Carl Dewey Perkins | |
---|---|
7th district | |
In office January 3, 1949 – August 3, 1984 | |
Preceded by | Wendell H. Meade |
Succeeded by | Chris Perkins |
Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives | |
In office 1941 | |
Personal details | |
Born | Democratic Party | October 15, 1912
Spouse |
Verna Johnson
(m. 1938; died 1984) |
Children | Chris Perkins |
Alma mater | University of Louisville School of Law |
Occupation | Attorney |
Carl Dewey Perkins (October 15, 1912 – August 3, 1984[1]), a Democrat, was an American politician and member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Kentucky serving from 1949 until his death from a heart attack in Lexington, Kentucky in 1984.
Early years
Carl Dewey Perkins was born in Hindman, Kentucky on October 15, 1912, to Dora Calhoun Perkins and James Perkins.[2] Perkins attended high school at Hindman High School and Caney Junior College (now Alice Lloyd College). He worked as a teacher in a Knott County School for 90 students.[3][4] He then went on to attend the Jefferson School of Law (now known as the University of Louisville School of Law) and graduated in 1935.[3] He passed the bar and served a term as a commonwealth attorney for the thirty-first judicial district of Kentucky.[5]
In 1938 Perkins married Verna Johnson and they had one son,
During World War II, Perkins enlisted in the United States Army and served a tour in Europe.[5]
In 1940, Perkins was elected as a member of the
He was elected to serve as a Kentucky Representative in 1948 winning against the incumbent Wendell H. Meade.[4]
Congress
In 1948 Perkins ran against the incumbent Congressman from Kentucky's 7th District,
Unlike most Southern Democrats, Perkins was a pro-labor New Deal liberal. Perkins did not sign the 1956 Southern Manifesto, and voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,[6] 1960,[7] 1964 (where Perkins was the only yes vote from Kentucky),[8] and 1968,[9] as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[10][11]
Death
Carl D. Perkins died August 3, 1984, in Lexington, Kentucky after complaining of feeling ill on a flight from Washington. He fell ill on the plane and was pronounced dead of a heart attack on arrival at St. Joseph's Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.[12]
His funeral was widely attended as he was widely regarded as a popular Kentucky politician over the course of his career. Many of his colleagues flew to Kentucky to pay their respects along with thousands of native Kentucky residents.[13][14]
The funeral proceedings were hosted in the Knott County High School gymnasium that was filled to capacity by colleagues and constituents of the congressman all of which were there to pay their respects.
Perkins was succeeded in office by his son,
Legacy
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0c/Ohio_river_painting_HRoe_2002.jpg/250px-Ohio_river_painting_HRoe_2002.jpg)
Perkins's legacy of support to education and the under-privileged is shown by the federal
Perkins' grave site is in Hindman, Kentucky, in a public cemetery named "Mountain Memory Gardens". However, he was originally buried at a private cemetery near his home in Hindman. In 2007 Perkins's body was moved to where he is presently buried at Mountain Memory Gardens. Verna J. Perkins sold the old house and the land. She had since retired to a home for the elderly in Lexington, where she died in 2012.
See also
- List of United States Congress members who died in office (1950–99)
References
- ^ "Rep. Carl Perkins dies; heart attack suspected"; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; August 4, 1984
- OCLC 953850132.
- ^ a b c d Dent, Heather. "Library Homepage: Perkins, Carl D. : Home". libraryguides.berea.edu. Retrieved 2017-02-25.
- ^ a b c d e Reeves, Andree E. "Carl D. Perkins". American National Biography Online. Retrieved February 23, 2017.
- ^ a b c "Perkins, Carl Dewey (1912-1984)". bioguide.congress.gov.
- ^ "HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957". GovTrack.us.
- ^ "HR 8601. PASSAGE".
- ^ "H.R. 7152. PASSAGE".
- ^ "TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR INTERFERENCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS. INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON ENGAGED IN ONE OF THE 8 ACTIVITIES PROTECTED UNDER THIS BILL MUST BE RACIALLY MOTIVATED TO INCUR THE BILL'S PENALTIES".
- ^ "S.J. RES. 29. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN THE USE OF POLL TAX AS A REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS". GovTrack.us.
- ^ "TO PASS H.R. 6400, THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT".
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
- ISBN 9780813118161.
- ^ "Carl Perkins is Honored by Thousands". news.google.com. Retrieved 2017-03-28.
- ^ "Perkins Eulogized as 'Caring' and 'True Giant'". The Hartford Courant. 8 August 1984.
- ^ Bergstrom, Bill (8 August 1984). "Perkins Eulogy is Delivered by Kennedy, O'Neil". The Harlan Daily Enterprise.
External links
- "Carl D. Perkins". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-01-24.
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- Carl D. Perkins Papers, 1948-1984, 496 cubic feet (processed) Compiled by Jackie Couture, Debbie Whalen, Chuck Hill, Eastern Kentucky University Special Collections and Archives