Dolph Briscoe

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Dolph Briscoe
Briscoe in 1976
41st Governor of Texas
In office January 16, 1973 – January 16, 1979
Lieutenant	William P. Hobby Jr.
Preceded by	Preston Smith
Succeeded by	Bill Clements
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 79th district
In office January 13, 1953 – January 8, 1957
Preceded by	Ligon L. Holstein
Succeeded by	Jack Richardson
Member of the Texas House of Representatives from the 77th district
In office January 11, 1949 – January 13, 1953
Preceded by	Britton T. Edwards
Succeeded by	A.J. Bishop Jr.
Personal details
Born	Dolph Briscoe Jr. (1923-04-23)April 23, 1923 Uvalde, Texas, U.S.
Died	June 27, 2010(2010-06-27) (aged 87) Uvalde, Texas, U.S.
Resting place	Briscoe Rio Frio Ranch Cemetery in Uvalde County, Texas
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Janey Slaughter ​ ​ (m. 1942; died 2000)​
Children	3
Alma mater	University of Texas at Austin (BA)
Profession	Rancher, politician
Website	briscoecenter.org
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1942–1945
Rank	Second Lieutenant
Battles/wars	World War II

Dolph Briscoe Jr. (April 23, 1923 – June 27, 2010) was an American rancher and businessman from Uvalde, Texas, who was the 41st governor of Texas between 1973 and 1979. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Because of his re-election following an amendment to the Texas Constitution doubling the Governor's term to four years, Briscoe became both the last governor to serve a two-year term and the first to serve a four-year term.

A lifelong resident of Uvalde, Briscoe was first elected to the Texas Legislature in 1948 and served as a state representative from 1949 to 1957. As part of the reform movement in state politics stemming from the Sharpstown scandal, Briscoe won election as governor in 1972. During his six years as governor, Briscoe presided during a period of reform in state government as Texas's population and commerce boomed.

Following his two terms as governor, Briscoe returned to the ranching and banking business in Uvalde. He is recognized as having been one of the leading citizens of the state and a benevolent supporter of many civic, cultural, and educational institutions in Texas and the nation. Most recently before his death the former Texas governor established the Dolph and Janey Briscoe Fund for Texas History at the University of Texas at Austin.

He was the last Democratic Texan to be re-elected to the Governor's Mansion with his reelection landslide victory in 1974; fellow Democratic governors Mark White and Ann Richards lost their re-election bids respectively, in 1986 and 1994.