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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