Biographical Overview

• Born: November 21, 1878 in Blackwood, SC
  
• Died: February 12, 1936 in Spartanburg, SC
  
• Buried: Greenlawn Memorial Gardens in Spartanburg, SC
  
• Religion: Baptist
  
• Political Party: Democrat
  

Education

• Furman University
  
• Wofford College - graduated 1898
  

Occupation

• Lawyer

Major Events and Accomplishments, 1931–1935

• 1931 – The People's State Bank failed and its forty-four branches in South Carolina closed.
  

• October 13, 1931 – The Charleston City Council passed the first Historic Preservation Ordinance in the nation.
  

• December 5, 1933 – The Twenty-first Amendment to the US Constitution repealed prohibition, but the General Assembly legalized only beer and wine; the sale of strong liquor was still forbidden by laws passed during Governor Richard Irvine Manning III's administration.
  

• May 19, 1934 – Governor Blackwood signed the act that created the South Carolina Public Service Authority and led to the construction of the Santee-Cooper dams
  

• September 1934 – Seven striking textile workers were killed in Honea Path by special deputies when 45,000 of the state's 80,000 textile workers went on strike.
  

Other Government Positions

• South Carolina House of Representatives, 1902-1906
  
• Solicitor, Seventh Judicial Circuit of South Carolina, 1916-1930
  

Other Accomplishments, Honors, Distinctions

• Blackwood was defeated in the 1926 Democratic gubernatorial primary by John Gardiner Richards. He returned to Spartanburg to practice law after leaving office.

Related Web Resources

• Listing of records available at SC Archives and History Center

Election Results