Earl L. Brewer
993319
155367793
2007-09-03T07:25:19Z
SmackBot
433328
Set up birth date/death date template and/or general fixes
{{Infobox_Politician
| name = Earl L. Brewer
| image =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1869|8|11|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Carroll County, Mississippi]]
| residence =
| death_date = {{death date and age|1942|3|10|1869|8|11|mf=y}}
| death_place =
| office = [[Governor of Mississippi]]
| salary =
| term_start = 1912
| term_end = 1916
| predecessor = [[Edmond Noel]]
| successor = [[Theodore G. Bilbo]]
| party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]
| religion =
| constituency =
| majority =
| spouse =
| children =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Earl Leroy Brewer''' ([[August 11]] [[1869]] - [[March 10]] [[1942]]) was the [[Governor of Mississippi]] from 1912 to 1916. Elected as a [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]], he was unopposed in the primary and won the [[governor]]ship without ever making a single public campaign speech.
Brewer was born in [[Carroll County, Mississippi]]. 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 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 African-American 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]].
{{start box}}
{{succession box|
before=[[Edmond Noel]]|
title=[[List of Governors of Mississippi|Governor]] of [[Mississippi]]|
after=[[Theodore G. Bilbo]]|
years=1912-1916
}}
{{end box}}
==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.
* [http://www.vaiden.net/brewer_article2.jpg State Mourns Ex-Gov. Brewer] Jackson Daily News, March 11, 1942. Accessed February 5, 2007.
{{MSGovernors}}
<!-- Metadata: see [[Wikipedia:Persondata]] -->
{{Persondata
|NAME= Brewer, Earl L.
|ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
|SHORT DESCRIPTION= Governor of Mississippi
|DATE OF BIRTH= [[August 11]], [[1869]]
|PLACE OF BIRTH= [[Carroll County, Mississippi|Carroll County]], [[Mississippi]]
|DATE OF DEATH= [[March 10]], [[1942]]
|PLACE OF DEATH=
}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brewer, Earl L.}}
[[Category:1869 births]]
[[Category:1942 deaths]]
[[Category:Governors of Mississippi]]
[[Category:Mississippi politicians]]
[[Category:People from Clarksdale, Mississippi]]
{{Mississippi-politician-stub}}