Photograph, Emma Phillips Ferguson and David Pryor
Object number2016.013.02
MediumPaper, ink
Dimensions5 × 7 in. (12.7 × 17.8 cm)
Credit LineOld State House Museum Collection
Terms
David Hampton Pryor was born on August 29, 1934 in Camden, Arkansas. Pryor graduated from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville in 1957 with a degree in government. While in college, Pryor was heavily involved in student government, an interest that began in his childhood due to his family’s substantial involvement in public service. On November 28, 1957 Pryor married Barbara Jean Lunsford. Shortly afterward, they moved back to Camden where Pryor started and edited The Ouachita Citizen until its conclusion in 1962. In 1960, Pryor (D) was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives. While serving as a House Representative, Pryor attended the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville to complete a law degree which he received in 1964. Pryor later was elected to the United States House of Representatives after the retirement of Oren Harris in 1966 and was reelected twice. Pryor lost to John L. McClellan in the 1972 election for the United States Senate. After practicing law for two years, Pryor ran for Governor of Arkansas in 1975 and was elected as the state’s thirty-ninth governor. Pryor continued reforming the state government with calling a constitutional convention in order to reform the state constitution, created a state natural and cultural heritage program, and appointed a large number of African Americans and women to high-profile positions. However, Pryor was unable to pass his “Arkansas Plan”. After serving as governor for four years, Pryor was elected to the United States Senate in 1978. After retiring from the U.S. Senate in 1996, Pryor taught at his alma mater and later became the director of the Institute of Politics at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 2000. Pryor also donated his unexpended campaign funds to the University of Arkansas to promote historical archiving; in 2005 the program became the David and Barbara Pryor Center for Oral and Visual History. In 2004, Pryor was became the inaugural dean of the University of Arkansas Clinton School of Public Service, serving until 2006. Pryor published his autobiography, A Pryor Commitment, co-written by Don Harrell in 2008. Pryor was also appointed the interim chair of the state Democratic Party following the shooting death of Bill Gwatney.
Status
Not on view
