Albert Boutwell

Albert Boutwell
19th Lieutenant Governor of Alabama
In office January 19, 1959 – January 14, 1963
Governor	John M. Patterson
Preceded by	William G. Hardwick
Succeeded by	James B. Allen
22nd Mayor of Birmingham, Alabama
In office 1963–1967
Preceded by	Art Hanes
Succeeded by	George G. Siebels, Jr.
Member of the Alabama Senate
In office 1946
Personal details
Born	November 13, 1904 Montgomery, Alabama
Died	February 3, 1978 (aged 73)
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Helen Balfour Drake(m. November 23, 1934)
Children	3
Education	University of Alabama
Profession	Lawyer

Albert Burton Boutwell (November 13, 1904 – February 3, 1978) was the 19th Lieutenant Governor of Alabama. A Democrat, Boutwell served Governor John Malcolm Patterson of the same political party, from 1959-1963.

Boutwell graduated from the University of Alabama with a bachelor of law degree in 1928. While attending university, Boutwell was a member of two fraternities: the Sigma Delta Kappa law fraternity and the Alpha Phi Epsilon honorary Forensic Fraternity. In his graduating year, Boutwell was also the Student Government Association President.

After practicing law for many years, Boutwell was elected to the Alabama Senate in 1946. He was re-elected for a second term, during which he served as the president pro-tem. During his third term, Boutwell served as Chairman of the Interim Legislative Committee on Segregation in the Public Schools, and was elected lieutenant governor in 1958.

Considered a moderate by many white citizens of Birmingham during the Civil Rights Movement, Boutwell's election in 1963 as mayor was seen by many as a rejection of Eugene "Bull" Connor's policies on the former City Commission. He was elected just before the mass demonstrations of the "Birmingham Campaign" led by Martin Luther King, Jr. and Fred Shuttlesworth. He took office shortly after those demonstrations were met with violence at the hands of police dogs and fire hoses deployed by the lame duck Connor. He was in office a few months before the forced integration of Birmingham schools by the National Guard and the bombing of 16th Street Baptist Church, which killed four young girls.

The Municipal Auditorium was renamed in honor of Boutwell.

External links

• Biography courtesy of the Alabama Department of Archives