Name Kenneth Royall, | ||
Full Name Kenneth Claiborne Royall, Jr. Born September 2, 1918
Warsaw, North Carolina, U.S. ( 1918-09-02 ) Died June 5, 1999(1999-06-05) (aged 80)
Durham, North Carolina, U.S. Resting place Maplewood Cemetery, Durham, North Carolina, U.S. Spouse(s) Julia Zollicoffer Royall (m. 1945 - 1995, her death) Parents Kenneth Claiborne Royall
(1894 - 1971)
Margaret Best Royall
(1899 - 1993) Alma mater University of North Carolina | ||
Kenneth Claiborne Royall, Jr. (September 2, 1918 – June 5, 1999) was an American politician and businessman.
Biography
Born in Warsaw, North Carolina, Royall was the son of Margaret Pierce (Best) and Kenneth C. Royall, Sr. the last of Secretary of War and the first Secretary of the Army. Royall graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He went to Wake Forest University School of Law and the University of Virginia Law School. He served in the United States Marine Corps during World War II. Royall owned a furniture store in Durham, North Carolina. He served on the Durham County School Board. Royall then served in the North Carolina House of Representatives (1967-1973) and then the North Carolina State Senate (1973-1993) as a Democrat. In the Senate, he was majority leader and chairman of the Appropriations committee, and he advocated for mental health and blindness prevention. The state-supported Kenneth C. Royall, Jr. Children's Vision Screening Improvement Program is named in his honor. He was key to the formation of the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics and to the Royall Center for the Arts, both in Durham.
He died in Durham, North Carolina on June 5, 1999, at the age of 80. Kenneth Royall's wife, Julia, died in Durham, North Carolina on November 30, 1995, at age 71. They were interred in Maplewood Cemetery, Durham, North Carolina.