Harry F. Byrd Jr.

Harry Flood Byrd Jr. 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 the Byrd Organization due to its massive resistance to racial integration of public schools, 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.

20 December 1914

Born on the same birth day (20 December): Branch Rickey • David Nedohin • Facundo Pellistri • Martin Schulz • Rik Van Looy • Sandra Cisneros • Sivakant Tiwari • Sonny Perdue • Vakkom Majeed

Born in the same month (December 1914): Albert Tucker (artist) • Bill Erwin • Claude Renoir • Floyd Tillman • Hans Hellmut Kirst • Irving Fine • James Fletcher Jnr • Larry Noble (actor) • Ljubica Sokić • Max Manus • Mel Shaw • Richard Widmark