Connor, Theophilus Eugene 'Bull' vs. Birmingham Post Company
Trial Records
Biography:
Theophilus Eugene Connor was born in Dallas County, Alabama in 1897. Trained as
a
telegraph operator, Connor eventually settled in Birmingham, Alabama where he
worked as a
radio sports announcer. Capitalizing on his popularity with radio listeners and
on his well known
nickname ("Bull"), Connor entered politics in 1934 and was elected to
the Alabama House of
Representatives. Connor was elected Public Safety Commissioner of Birmingham in
1937, a
position that gave him administrative authority over the city’s police and
fire departments. He
remained Public Safety Commissioner until 1954, and held the position again from
1958 to 1963
when he was forced from office by a change in the form of the city government.
During his long
political career Connor ran two unsuccessful campaigns for governor of Alabama
and was a
leader of the 1948 Dixiecrat revolt. From 1964 to 1972 he served as a member of
the Alabama
Public Service Commission, the state body that regulates public utilities.
Connor died in
Birmingham in 1973.
"Bull" Connor is most famous for ordering the use of police dogs and
fire hoses to
disperse civil rights demonstrators in Birmingham during the spring of 1963.
Sources:
Bernard,
William D., Dixiecrats and Democrats: Alabama Politics, 1942-1950.
Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama Press, 1974.
Garrow, Daid
J. (ed), Birmingham, Alabama, 1956-1963: The Black Struggle for Civil
Rights. Brooklyn, New York: Carlson Publishing, 1989.
Nunnelley,
William D., Bull Connor. Tuscaloosa: The University of Alabama
Press,1991.
Scope and Content:
On the
evening of December 21, 1951 Connor was found by a Birmingham police
detective in a room at the Tutwiler Hotel with Christina Brown, a secretary in
the City of
Birmingham’s Department of Public Safety. Birmingham ordinance forbade persons
of the
opposite sex who were not husband and wife or parent and child from sharing a
hotel room.
Warrants were subsequently issued for the arrest of Connor and Brown, and Connor
eventually
stood trial and was found guilty. The scandal drove Connor from office, although
he eventually
was reelected to the city commission. Both Connor and Brown filed suit against
the Birmingham
Post for its coverage of the incident.
This
collection contains interviews, photographs, and other documentation generated
or
collected as a result of the suit.
Additional Source:
The
General Code of the City of Birmingham, Alabama. Charlottesville, Virginia:
The Mitchie Company, 1944.
Guide to Collection:
File
level guide available in the Archives.
Subject Areas:
Birmingham (Ala.) – Officials and employees.
Birmingham
(Ala.) -- Police Dept.
Birmingham
(Ala.) – Politics and government – 20th century.
Connor,
Eugene, 1897-1973.
Politicians
– Alabama – Birmingham.
Tutwiler
Hotel (Birmingham, Ala.).
Collection Number: 114
Size: 1/3 linear foot (1 box)
Restrictions: Standard preservation restrictions.
JB/10-25-99
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