"Virginia Senator" Harry F. Byrd Jr Signed TLS Dated 1979

Description

Up for auction "Virginia Senator" Harry F. Byrd Jr Signed TLS Dated 1979.
ES-3878D
Harry Flood Byrd Jr.
(December 20, 1914 – July 30, 2013) was an American orchardist, newspaper publisher and
politician
. He served in the
Senate of Virginia
and then represented
Virginia
in the
United States Senate
, succeeding his father,
Harry F. Byrd Sr.
His public service spanned thirty-six years, while he was a publisher of several Virginia newspapers.
After the decline of his family's
political machine
, due to its infamous support of
massive resistance
, he abandoned the
Democratic Party
in 1970, citing concern about its leftward tilt. He rehabilitated his political career, becoming the first independent in the history of the U.S. Senate to be elected by a
majority of the popular vote
. Byrd was born December 20, 1914 in
Winchester
, Virginia, the eldest child of
Harry F. Byrd Sr.
and his wife Anne Byrd (née Beverley). His siblings included a sister, Westwood ("Westie"), and two brothers, Richard Evelyn (Dick) and Beverley.
The Byrds were one of the
First Families of Virginia
, and Byrd was a member of the Virginia Society of the
Sons of the American Revolution
. His uncle,
Rear Admiral
Richard E. Byrd
was a pilot and polar explorer. In 1931, at his father's urging, young Harry Byrd enrolled at
Virginia Military Institute
. Two years later, Byrd transferred to the
University of Virginia
, where he became a member of the
St. Anthony Hall
fraternity, but left before graduating due to familial obligations. On August 9, 1941, Byrd married Gretchen Thompson. They had sons Harry and Thomas, and a daughter Beverley.