American government official and segregationist (1897–1973)
Bull Connor
Connor in 1960
President of the Alabama Public Service Commission
In office January 18, 1965 – January 17, 1972
Preceded by
Jack Owen
Succeeded by
Kenneth Hammond
Birmingham Commissioner of Public Safety
In office 1957–1963
Preceded by
Robert Lindbergh
Succeeded by
Position abolished
In office 1937–1954
Preceded by
W. O. Downs
Succeeded by
Robert Lindbergh
Member of the Alabama House of Representatives
In office 1935–1937
Personal details
Born
Theophilus Eugene Connor
(1897-07-11)July 11, 1897 Selma, Alabama, U.S.
Died
March 10, 1973(1973-03-10) (aged 75) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Political party
Democratic
Other political affiliations
Dixiecrat
Spouse
Beara Levens[1]
Children
2
Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor (July 11, 1897 – March 10, 1973) was an American politician who served as Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of Birmingham, Alabama, for more than two decades. A member of the Democratic Party, he strongly opposed the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Under the city commission government, Connor had responsibility for administrative oversight of the Birmingham Fire Department and the Birmingham Police Department,[1] which also had their own chiefs.
As a white supremacist,[2] Bull Connor enforced legal racial segregation and denied civil rights to black citizens, especially during 1963's Birmingham campaign led by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. He is well known for directing the use of fire hoses and police attack dogs against civil rights activists, including against children supporting the protests.[3] National media broadcast these tactics on television, horrifying much of the world. The outrages served as catalysts for major social and legal change in the Southern United States and contributed to passage by the United States Congress of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
^ abBaggett, James L. (October 12, 2009). "Eugene "Bull" Connor". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved August 4, 2020.
^"Eugene "Bull" Connor". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Retrieved 2021-12-01.
^"Meet the Players: Other Figures | American Experience | PBS". PBS. Retrieved 2020-08-05.
Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor (July 11, 1897 – March 10, 1973) was an American politician who served as Commissioner of Public Safety for the city of...
Commissioner of Public Safety, Eugene "Bull" Connor. Described as an "arch-segregationist" by Time magazine, Connor asserted that the city "ain't gonna segregate...
stronghold of Alabama, where Birmingham Police Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor conspired with local chapters of the Klan to attack the Riders. On May...
were arrested by BullConnor and jailed. The students kept their spirits up in jail by singing freedom songs. Out of frustration, Connor drove them back...
at UC Berkeley: Chancellor Robert Birgeneau thus joins the likes of BullConnor, the notorious segregationist and architect of the violent repression...
hoses are used for crowd control (see also water cannon), including by BullConnor in the Birmingham campaign against protesters during the Civil Rights...
Alabama, an FBI informant reported that Public Safety Commissioner Eugene "Bull" Connor gave Ku Klux Klan members fifteen minutes to attack an incoming group...
(AIP-CA) Tom Turnipseed, President of the Wallace Forum Association (D-SC) BullConnor, President of the Alabama Public Service Commission (D-AL) William J...
Birmingham, they also created a split between Connor and the business leaders. They resented both the damage Connor was doing to Birmingham's image around the...
provoked BullConnor and his police forces by using young teenagers as demonstrators – and Connor arrested 900 on one day alone. The next day Connor unleashed...
States." Birmingham's Commissioner of Public Safety, Theophilus Eugene "Bull" Connor, led the effort in enforcing racial segregation in the city through the...
provoked BullConnor and his police forces by using young teenagers as demonstrators – and Connor arrested 900 in one day alone. The next day Connor unleashed...
brutal response of local police, led by Public Safety Commissioner "Bull" Connor, stood in stark contrast to the nonviolent civil disobedience of the...
bous al carrer 'bulls in the street', or correbous 'bull-runner') is an event that involves running in front of a small group of bulls, typically six but...
that their members would be arrested if they appeared in Tuscaloosa. BullConnor, the chief of Birmingham police, also told Klan members to spread word...
Southern Democrat BullConnor, a 1960s symbol of white opposition to the civil rights movement, saying: "George Bush is our BullConnor." A few days later...
seeking a second consecutive term. Albert Boutwell, Lieutenant Governor BullConnor, Birmingham Public Safety Commissioner Jim Folsom, former Governor Ryan...
Commissioner For Public Safety against former office holder Eugene "Bull" Connor, who won that election in 1957. As with most elections during this time...
Global Information