History:The subject is standing behind his desk. In his raised left hand, he is holding his eyeglasses. His right hand rests upon his speaker from the Legislature Chamber.
Notes:Earl Buford Ellington (1907-1972) was born in Mississippi. He became a farmer and merchant, also serving as agriculture commissioner for six years under Frank Clement, and as a member of the legislature before he was elected governor in 1958 and again in 1967. He and Frank Clement led the Democratic party and alternated the executive chair for eighteen years. Initially a segregationist, Ellington later reversed his position. Peaceful, successful nonviolent sit-ins in Nashville were among the earliest and best organized in the nation. His terms saw constitutional changes, reorganization and reduction of state government, liberalization of liquor laws and repeal of the anti-evolution law. Tennessee Blue Book
