Earl L. Brewer

Infobox Governor
name= Earl LeRoy Brewer


party= Democratic
order= 38^th
title=Governor of Mississippi
term_start= January 16, 1912
term_end= January 18, 1916
lieutenant= Theodore G. Bilbo
predecessor= Edmond Noel
successor= Theodore G. Bilbo
date of birth= birth date|1869|8|11|mf=y
place of birth= near Vaiden, Mississippi
date of death= death date and age|1942|3|10|1869|8|11|mf=y
place of death= Jackson, Mississippi
religion= Presbyterian
profession = Lawyer
spouse= Minnie Marion Block

Earl LeRoy Brewer (August 11 1869 - March 10 1942) was the Governor of Mississippi from 1912 to 1916. Elected as a Democrat, he was unopposed in the primary and won the governorship without ever making a single public campaign speech.

Brewer was born in Carroll County, Mississippi, near the town of Vaiden. His father, Radcliff Rodney Brewer, had been a farmer, plantation manager and overseer, and a captain in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

Brewer attended the University of Mississippi and after less than one year of study, obtained a Bachelor of Law degree in 1892. He immediately began practicing law and then was elected to the Mississippi State Senate in 1895. In 1902 he was appointed district attorney for the 11th District.

In 1907 he resigned his position as district attorney in order to run for governor. Brewer was narrowly defeated in his first attempt but won handily in the next campaign. As governor, Brewer promoted progressive reforms in several areas. The constitution was changed to create an elective judiciary; banking laws were established to limit interest rates; and a Bureau of Vital Statistics was created.

During his term there was a severe epidemic of pellagra in the state and other portions of the South. When the federal government sent Joseph Goldberger to study the disease and find a cure, Brewer offered full pardons to convicts who would participate in Goldberger's experiments. As a result of these studies, it was determined that pellagra was caused by a vitamin deficiency.

After his term was over, Brewer assisted in the defense of three Black defendants accused of murder who had been convicted on the basis of coerced confessions. Brewer argued and won their appeal to the United States Supreme Court in Brown v. Mississippi.

Brewer later ran unsuccessfully for U.S. Senate in 1924.

Brewer died in Jackson and is buried at Oakridge Cemetery in Clarksdale.

References

* Sansing, David G. [http://mshistory.k12.ms.us/features/feature48/governors/brewer.htm Earl Leroy Brewer Thirty-eighth Governor of Mississippi: 1912-1916] "Mississippi History Now." Mississippi Historical Society.
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External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Brewer&GSfn=Earl&GSbyrel=in&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=19943261& Earl L. Brewer's grave] at Find-A-Grave
* [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=5e800646cf307010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD Profile] at National Governors Association website

Persondata
NAME= Brewer, Earl L.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION= Governor of Mississippi
DATE OF BIRTH= August 11, 1869
PLACE OF BIRTH= Carroll County, Mississippi
DATE OF DEATH= March 10, 1942
PLACE OF DEATH=