John Bell Williams

John Bell Williams
55th Governor of Mississippi
In office January 16, 1968 – January 18, 1972
Lieutenant	Charles L. Sullivan
Preceded by	Paul B. Johnson Jr.
Succeeded by	Bill Waller
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Mississippi
In office January 3, 1947 – January 16, 1968
Preceded by	Dan R. McGehee
Succeeded by	Charles H. Griffin
Constituency	7th district (1947–1953) 4th district (1953–1963) 3rd district (1963–1968)
Personal details
Born	(1918-12-04)December 4, 1918 Raymond, Mississippi, U.S.
Died	March 25, 1983(1983-03-25) (aged 64) Brandon, Mississippi, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Elizabeth Ann Wells
Alma mater	Hinds Community College University of Mississippi Mississippi College
Profession	Lawyer
Military service
Branch	United States Army
Rank	Pilot (injured in bomber crash)
Unit	United States Army Air Corps
Battles/wars	World War II

John Bell Williams (December 4, 1918 – March 25, 1983) was an American Democratic politician who represented Mississippi in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1968 and served as the 55th governor of Mississippi from 1968 to 1972.

He was first elected to Congress at the age of just 27 in 1946, representing southwestern Mississippi. He was re-elected repeatedly to Congress through the 1966 election in what was then a one-party Democratic state, but was stripped of his congressional leadership positions after he publicly supported Republican Barry Goldwater in the 1964 presidential election.

Williams was elected governor in 1967, defeating numerous candidates. He had a history of supporting racial segregation but complied with a federal court order to finally desegregate Mississippi's public schools.