Larkin Irvin Smith (June 26, 1944 – August 13, 1989) was an American Congressman from
Mississippi
Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...
serving for seven months until he was killed in a plane crash in
Perry County, Mississippi
Perry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2010 census, the population was 12,250. The county seat is New Augusta. The county is named after the War of 1812 naval hero, Oliver Hazard Perry.
Perry County is pa ...
in 1989.
Smith was born in
Poplarville, Mississippi to Nona Orene Bounds and her husband Hezekiah K. Smith, Sr. Smith was named after his maternal grandfather Larkin Bounds and his maternal uncle Irvin E. Bounds. He received his bachelor's degree from
William Carey University
William Carey University (also known as Carey, William Carey, or WCU) is a private Christian university in Mississippi, affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The main campus is in Hattiesbur ...
and then served at various positions in the police forces in both
Pearl River
The Pearl River, also known by its Chinese name Zhujiang or Zhu Jiang in Mandarin pinyin or Chu Kiang and formerly often known as the , is an extensive river system in southern China. The name "Pearl River" is also often used as a catch-a ...
and then
Harrison
Harrison may refer to:
People
* Harrison (name)
* Harrison family of Virginia, United States
Places
In Australia:
* Harrison, Australian Capital Territory, suburb in the Canberra district of Gungahlin
In Canada:
* Inukjuak, Quebec, or " ...
counties. He became the police chief in
Gulfport and thereafter the Harrison County
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...
.
In 1988, Smith ran for the
U.S. House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
as a
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
from
Mississippi's 5th congressional district
Mississippi's 5th congressional district existed from 1855 to 2003. The state was granted a fifth representative by Congress following the 1850 census.
From 1853 to 1855, the fifth representative was elected at-large instead of by district, favo ...
in the southern portion of the state after eight-term incumbent
Trent Lott
Chester Trent Lott Sr. (born October 9, 1941) is an American lawyer, author, and politician. A former United States Senator from Mississippi, Lott served in numerous leadership positions in both the United States House of Representatives and the ...
gave up the seat to make a successful run for the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
.
He defeated
Democratic State Senator Gene Taylor and took office on January 3, 1989. However, Smith died on the night of August 13 in a plane crash in rural
Perry County near Gulfport after returning from opening the Little League baseball "Dixie Youth World Series" in
Hattiesburg
Hattiesburg is a city in the U.S. state of Mississippi, located primarily in Forrest County (where it is the county seat and largest city) and extending west into Lamar County. The city population was 45,989 at the 2010 census, with the populat ...
. The bodies of Smith and pilot Chuck Vierling were not recovered until the next morning after a search in which rescuers had to bulldoze their way through the forest. Smith's death came only six days after fellow Representative
Mickey Leland
George Thomas "Mickey" Leland III (November 27, 1944 – August 7, 1989) was an anti-poverty activist who later became a congressman from the Texas 18th District and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. He was a Democrat.
Early years
Leland w ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
died in a plane crash in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
on August 7, 1989.
Taylor would succeed Smith in a
special election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-larges ...
held some two months after the crash, beating Republican candidate Tom Anderson. Taylor was reelected every two years until 2010, when he was defeated by Republican State Representative
Steven Palazzo
Steven McCarty Palazzo (; born February 21, 1970) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2023. The district included Mississippi's Gulf Coast, Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula, Laurel and Hattiesburg. ...
.
See also
*
References
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_United_States_House_of_Representatives_elections
External links
Infoplease biography of Smith*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Larkin I.
1944 births
1989 deaths
American municipal police chiefs
People from Poplarville, Mississippi
William Carey University alumni
Mississippi sheriffs
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1989
Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States
Accidental deaths in Mississippi
People from Gulfport, Mississippi
Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Mississippi
20th-century American politicians