John Gardiner Richards, Jr.

John Gardiner Richards, Jr.
96th Governor of South Carolina
In office January 18, 1927 – January 20, 1931
Lieutenant	Thomas Bothwell Butler
Preceded by	Thomas Gordon McLeod
Succeeded by	Ibra Charles Blackwood
Member of the South Carolina House of Representatives from Kershaw County
In office January 10, 1899 – January 10, 1911
Personal details
Born	September 11, 1864 Liberty Hill, South Carolina, C.S.A.
Died	October 9, 1941 (aged 77) Liberty Hill, South Carolina

John Gardiner Richards, Jr. (September 11, 1864 – October 9, 1941) was the 96th Governor of South Carolina from 1927 to 1931.

Youth

Born in Liberty Hill, South Carolina, on September 11, 1864, to John G. Richards and Sophia Edwards Smith, he attended schools in Liberty Hill and North Carolina's Bingham Military Institute for a short time.

Career Milestones

• 1898: Elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives
• 1910: Appointed as the South Carolina Railroad Commissioner
• 1926: Elected Governor of South Carolina on his fourth attempt by winning a contested Democratic primary.

Gubernatorial career

The South Carolina Constitution had been amended in 1926 to give the governor a four-year term and Richards became the first South Carolina governor elected for a four-year term. His time as Governor was noted for his strict observance of Blue laws, even chastising golfers for playing on Sunday.^[1]

References

1. From Walter Edgar's South Carolina: A History, p. 484:

External links

• SCIway Biography of Governor John Gardiner Richards
• South Carolina Encyclopedia Biography of Governor John Gardiner Richards
• Letter written in 1926 by John G. Richards