Recent from talks
Edmund D. Campbell
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Edmund D. Campbell
Edmund Douglas Campbell (March 12, 1899 – December 7, 1995) was a Virginia lawyer and progressive politician in Arlington County, Virginia, who opposed the Byrd Organization, particularly its declared Massive Resistance to the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 and 1955. Campbell and his wife Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell became known for their efforts to improve and desegregate Arlington public schools, and organized a coalition of parents and citizens from across Virginia (the Save Our Schools Committee) to allow schools which desegregated pursuant to court order to remain open, contrary to the announced policies of Senator Harry F. Byrd and his allies.
Campbell was born on March 12, 1899, in Lexington, Virginia, to Henry Donald Campbell and his wife, the former Martha Miller. Both his grandfather and father had taught at Washington and Lee University. His father often told young Edmund of his own childhood living next to Robert E. Lee, who served as the college's president after the American Civil War, and how he rode behind the former General on his horse, Traveller. Family heirlooms included letters from Confederate Generals Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
Edmund Campbell was admitted to Washington and Lee when he was 15 years old and would graduate as valedictorian of his class in 1918. He served six weeks in the U.S. Army, but was discharged when World War I ended. Campbell then attended Harvard University and received a master's degree in economics. He returned to Virginia to study law, and graduated first in his class from Washington and Lee Law School in 1922, then moved to Washington, D.C.
Campbell married Estelle Butterworth in 1926, and moved across the Potomac River to Arlington. Before her death in 1934, they had a son (who became Rev. Edmund D. Campbell Jr.) and a daughter (Virginia Campbell Holt). In June 1936, Campbell married Elizabeth Pfohl, North Carolina-born president of a women's college in Staunton, Virginia. They had twin sons, Donald and Benjamin, in 1941.
The Campbells sent their children to the local public schools. Elizabeth Campbell remained active in education and would later serve on Arlington's school board and help found WETA-TV (Washington Educational Television Association) during their marriage of nearly six decades. Edmund Campbell was also active in the Rotary Club and Masons. He became a vestryman of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in north Arlington, and would later help found St. Peter's Episcopal Church in north Arlington.
After admission to the Virginia bar, Campbell moved to Washington, D.C., and later rented a home in Arlington, Virginia, which was a growing streetcar suburb of the national capital. His legal practice, with Douglas, Obear & Campbell and later Jackson & Campbell, included northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. Campbell was a member of the American Bar Association, the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, and in 1962 served as President of the District of Columbia Bar. He also lectured in law for National University in Washington.
In the 1930s, Campbell served on the Arlington County Public Utilities Commission, which succeeded in reducing gas and electric rates.
From 1940 until 1947, Campbell served on the Arlington County Board, including a term as chairman. He helped establish the county's first master zoning plan, and in his last term helped establish Arlington's first elected School Board (on which his wife Elizabeth would serve, including as chairwoman). Campbell then organized Arlingtonians for a Better County, a nonpartisan coalition that became a major force in county politics.
Hub AI
Edmund D. Campbell AI simulator
(@Edmund D. Campbell_simulator)
Edmund D. Campbell
Edmund Douglas Campbell (March 12, 1899 – December 7, 1995) was a Virginia lawyer and progressive politician in Arlington County, Virginia, who opposed the Byrd Organization, particularly its declared Massive Resistance to the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 and 1955. Campbell and his wife Elizabeth Pfohl Campbell became known for their efforts to improve and desegregate Arlington public schools, and organized a coalition of parents and citizens from across Virginia (the Save Our Schools Committee) to allow schools which desegregated pursuant to court order to remain open, contrary to the announced policies of Senator Harry F. Byrd and his allies.
Campbell was born on March 12, 1899, in Lexington, Virginia, to Henry Donald Campbell and his wife, the former Martha Miller. Both his grandfather and father had taught at Washington and Lee University. His father often told young Edmund of his own childhood living next to Robert E. Lee, who served as the college's president after the American Civil War, and how he rode behind the former General on his horse, Traveller. Family heirlooms included letters from Confederate Generals Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
Edmund Campbell was admitted to Washington and Lee when he was 15 years old and would graduate as valedictorian of his class in 1918. He served six weeks in the U.S. Army, but was discharged when World War I ended. Campbell then attended Harvard University and received a master's degree in economics. He returned to Virginia to study law, and graduated first in his class from Washington and Lee Law School in 1922, then moved to Washington, D.C.
Campbell married Estelle Butterworth in 1926, and moved across the Potomac River to Arlington. Before her death in 1934, they had a son (who became Rev. Edmund D. Campbell Jr.) and a daughter (Virginia Campbell Holt). In June 1936, Campbell married Elizabeth Pfohl, North Carolina-born president of a women's college in Staunton, Virginia. They had twin sons, Donald and Benjamin, in 1941.
The Campbells sent their children to the local public schools. Elizabeth Campbell remained active in education and would later serve on Arlington's school board and help found WETA-TV (Washington Educational Television Association) during their marriage of nearly six decades. Edmund Campbell was also active in the Rotary Club and Masons. He became a vestryman of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in north Arlington, and would later help found St. Peter's Episcopal Church in north Arlington.
After admission to the Virginia bar, Campbell moved to Washington, D.C., and later rented a home in Arlington, Virginia, which was a growing streetcar suburb of the national capital. His legal practice, with Douglas, Obear & Campbell and later Jackson & Campbell, included northern Virginia and Washington, D.C. Campbell was a member of the American Bar Association, the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States, and in 1962 served as President of the District of Columbia Bar. He also lectured in law for National University in Washington.
In the 1930s, Campbell served on the Arlington County Public Utilities Commission, which succeeded in reducing gas and electric rates.
From 1940 until 1947, Campbell served on the Arlington County Board, including a term as chairman. He helped establish the county's first master zoning plan, and in his last term helped establish Arlington's first elected School Board (on which his wife Elizabeth would serve, including as chairwoman). Campbell then organized Arlingtonians for a Better County, a nonpartisan coalition that became a major force in county politics.