Leland James O'Callaghan (June 17, 1915 – January 22, 1997) was an American businessman and politician from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. He was an important civic leader, businessman, and political leader from

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Early life

O'Callaghan was born on June 17, 1915, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. He attended the Atlanta public schools, and in 1937, graduated from

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. He served in the Air Force during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

where he rose to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He later served as a

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

in the

Georgia Air National Guard The Georgia Air National Guard (GA ANG) is the aerial militia of the State of Georgia, United States of America. It is a reserve of the United States Air Force, and along with the Georgia Army National Guard, an element of the Georgia National ...

. In 1946, he founded the Dealers Supply Co., which he served as president. He was elected to the

Atlanta Board of Education The Atlanta Board of Education is the governing body of Atlanta Public Schools. The board has nine members: six are elected by geographical districts and three are elected citywide. All serve four-year terms. While the board establishes and approv ...

as a representative of the 5th Ward in 1957. In 1959, he was president of the Atlanta Board of Education for two years, which was caught in the turmoil of

school integration In the United States, school integration (also known as desegregation) is the process of ending race-based segregation within American public, and private schools. Racial segregation in schools existed throughout most of American history and ...

at the time. During the Massive Resistance, in contrast to fellow Southerners, he resisted pressure to close the schools and insisted they remain open. Despite the backlash from his friends and other board members, he successfully achieved integration without incident.

Political career

O'Callaghan began his political career when he ran for the

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in 1956 against Hoke Smith. In

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

, he ran for Congress in

Georgia's 5th congressional district Georgia's 5th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. The district was represented by Democratic Party (United States), Democrat John Lewis from January 3, 1987, until his death on ...

. He expected to run against Democratic incumbent James C. Davis, but Davis lost the primary to Weltner in the primary on September 26. In his campaign, he ran as an "Eisenhower Republican," and a fiscally conservative platform. He pledged to cut taxes, defend the free enterprise system, and "establish faith in the individual as the foundation of our national life." On racial issues, he "vowed to represent all the people of the Fifth district." Despite O'Callaghan being endorsed by the ''

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'', Weltner defeated him by 10,000 votes. O'Callaghan had received 30% of the Black vote, whereas Weltner received 70%. In

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

, he ran again in the same district, facing Charles L. Weltner a second time. O'Callaghan ran to the right as a Goldwater Republican. He advocated for the repeal of the public accommodations and fair employment practices of the

Civil Rights Act of 1964 The Civil Rights Act of 1964 () is a landmark civil rights and United States labor law, labor law in the United States that outlaws discrimination based on Race (human categorization), race, Person of color, color, religion, sex, and nationa ...

, although he qualified his statement. However, he refused to run an overt segregationist campaign. On October 19, he issued a statement declaring he would be more inclined to support the civil rights bill if the fair employment provisions included every business in the country. He also urged voters to comply with the Civil Rights Act once it became the law. His campaign also focused its attacks on Governor

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, Mayor

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, and President

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. In the general election, O'Callaghan lost by a margin of 18,966 votes.

Electoral history

Personal life

He married his wife, Mary Mees, on June 14, 1941. Together, they had five daughters. He died in

Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville ( ) is the most populous city proper in the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida, northeastern Florida. It is the county seat of Duval County, Florida, Duval County, with which the City of Jacksonv ...

, on January 22, 1997, aged 81 due to a stroke.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:O'Callaghan, L. J. 1915 births 1997 deaths Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans People from Atlanta Georgia Tech alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Georgia National Guard personnel