Lawton Chiles
(1930-1998)

Died aged c. 68

Lawton Mainor Chiles, Florida’s 41st Governor was born April 3, 1930 in Lakeland. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1952. After serving in Korea, he retuned to the university’s law school and graduated in 1955. He began his political career in 1958 when he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives. In 1966 Chiles was elected to the Florida Senate, where he served until 1970. He became known as "Walkin’ Lawton" in his 1970 campaign for the United States Senate, walking over 1,000 miles from northwest Florida to Key West. Chiles served three terms as a senator and became the first Floridian to chair the Senate Budget Committee. In this position, he helped create the National Commission to Prevent Infant Mortality. After leaving the Senate in 1989, Chiles was elected governor in 1990. Under his leadership, the state scored a landmark legal victory against the tobacco industry. The Kidcare Act was also passed during his administration, expanding healthcare coverage to 256,000 Florida children. Governor Chiles died December 12, 1998, 24 days before the end of his second term.

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Lawton Mainor Chiles Jr. (April 3, 1930 – December 12, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 41st governor of Florida from 1991 until his death in 1998. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a United States senator from Florida from 1971 to 1989. A Korean War veteran, Chiles later returned to Florida for law school and eventually opened his own private practice in 1955. Three years later, Chiles entered politics with a successful bid for the Florida House of Representatives in 1958, as a member of the Democratic Party. By 1966, Chiles left the Florida House to run for the Florida Senate. Despite 12 years in the Florida Legislature, Chiles was relatively unknown when he decided to bid for United States Senate in 1970. He embarked on a 1,003-mile walk from Pensacola to Key West for his campaign, earning him the nickname "Walkin' Lawton". It was successful and Chiles defeated his opponent William C. Cramer by a 53.9%–46.1% margin. Chiles retired from the United States Senate and from politics entirely in 1989. However, supporters convinced him to run for governor of Florida in 1990 against the unpopular incumbent Bob Martinez, and Chiles defeated Martinez by a 13-point margin (56.5% to 43.5%). During his first term as Governor, Chiles reformed health care and oversaw recovery efforts from Hurricane Andrew in 1992. Chiles faced a tough re-election bid in 1994 against Jeb Bush, a businessman and son of former President George H. W. Bush. Chiles prevailed over Bush by fewer than 64,000 votes. During his second term, Chiles reformed education in Florida. On December 12, 1998, he suffered a heart attack and died at the Florida Governor's Mansion, leaving Lieutenant Governor Buddy MacKay to serve the remaining 24 days of Chiles' unexpired term. Jeb Bush succeeded MacKay.

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