Paul B. Johnson Jr.

Paul Burney Johnson Jr. (January 23, 1916October 14, 1985) was an American attorney and Democratic politician from Mississippi, serving as 54th governor from January 1964 until January 1968. He was a son of former Mississippi Governor Paul B. Johnson Sr. Early life and education Paul B. Johnson Jr. grew up in a political family, as his father was a notable Democratic Party leader, serving as US Congressman from 1919 to 1923. The younger Johnson had an affectionate reverence for Franklin D. Roosevelt based on the days of his Congressman father's friendship with the then-Assistant Secretary of the Navy (the families' children knew each other). In 1938, Johnson Sr. was elected as Governor of Mississippi, dying in office in 1943. Johnson attended local schools, which were segregated under Jim Crow laws. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he met his college sweetheart Dorothy Power. During his first year at Ole Miss, he was a member of the freshman Ole Miss football team and was initiated into Sigma Alpha Epsilon social fraternity. He had the distinction of being the only sophomore ever elected as president of the Ole Miss student body. He also graduated from Ole Miss Law and passed the bar exam. Early career and military service Johnson became a practicing attorney in Jackson and Hattiesburg. After beginning his career, he married Dorothy Power in 1941. They had 4 children.