William Winter
Governor of Mississippi
Died when: 97 years 301 days (1173 months)Star Sign: Pisces
William Forrest Winter (February 21, 1923 – December 18, 2020) was an American attorney and politician.He served as the 58th governor of Mississippi from 1980 to 1984.
A Democrat, he was known for his strong support of public education, freedom of information, racial reconciliation, and historic preservation.
Winter is best remembered for the passage of the Mississippi Education Reform Act.The law was the first serious attempt to improve state education in more than 20 years and established public kindergartens.
The Winter administration also successfully rewrote the state public utilities law when the legislature passed the Public Utilities Reform Act.
Winter served in the U.S.Army during World War II in the Philippines.He was elected to the state legislature in 1947 while still in law school.
He also served again during the Korean War, receiving a hardship discharge in 1951 after his father had a heart attack and his mother needed him on their family farm.
After the war, he served in the Mississippi National Guard with the rank of major, until 1957.
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Governor of Mississippi
Governor of Mississippi
Governor of Mississippi