Fielding L. Wright
| Fielding L. Wright | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 49th & 50th Governor of Mississippi | |
|
In office November 2, 1946 – January 22, 1952 |
|
| Lieutenant | Sam Lumpkin |
| Preceded by | Thomas L. Bailey |
| Succeeded by | Hugh L. White |
| 19th Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi | |
|
In office January 18, 1944 – November 2, 1946 |
|
| Governor | Thomas L. Bailey |
| Preceded by | Dennis Murphree |
| Succeeded by | Sam Lumpkin |
| Member of the Mississippi Senate | |
|
In office 1928–1932 |
|
| Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives | |
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In office 1932 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Fielding Lewis Wright May 16, 1895 Rolling Fork, Mississippi |
| Died | May 4, 1956 (aged 60) Jackson, Mississippi |
| Political party |
Democratic Dixiecrat (1948) |
| Spouse(s) | Nan Kelly |
| Profession | Lawyer |
| Religion | Methodist |
Fielding Lewis Wright (May 16, 1895 – May 4, 1956) was a Democratic politician who served as Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi from 1944 to 1946, then as Governor after the incumbent, Thomas L. Bailey, died in office in 1946. Wright was elected Governor in his own right in 1947 and served a full four-year term. In 1948, Wright was nominated as the candidate for vice-president of the States' Rights Democratic Party (Dixiecrats), running alongside South Carolina's Governor Strom Thurmond.
Wright was born on May 16, 1895 in the town of Rolling Fork, in Sharkey County, Mississippi, into a politically active family, the son of Frances Foote (Clements) and Henry James Wright. Through his mother, he was a direct descendant of Fielding Lewis and his wife, Betty Washington Lewis, a sister of George Washington. After serving in the U.S. Army during World War I, he returned home vowing that he would never become a "dang politician". Wright studied law at the University of Alabama, then went on to open a law office in Rolling Fork, in partnership with his uncle.
Wright turned down several opportunities to run for public office before finally agreeing to run for the Mississippi Senate in 1928. He won that election and, four years later, was elected to the Mississippi House of Representatives. In his second term as a representative he was elected Speaker of the House, and used his position to promote and support industrialization, commercial development and highway construction, issues of great importance to a traditionally agricultural state struggling to modernize its economy.
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