Clemson University Libraries

Strom Thurmond Photos

This selection of photographs from the Strom Thurmond Collection documents Senator Thurmond's life from 1903 to 1987, with particular emphasis on his early life and career. They are arranged chronologically, with the earliest photographs first.



James Strom Thurmond at six months. 1903.


Thurmond home in Edgefield, SC. Early 1900's..


Clemson College Varsity Track Team; Cadet Thurmond is first on the left in the second row.

Cadet Thurmond as a senior at Clemson College. Fall 1922.

Cadet Thurmond's senior class picture, Clemson College. Fall 1922.

Cadet Thurmond as president of the Calhoun Literary Society at Clemson College (first row, second from left). 1922-1923.

State Senator Thurmond of Edgefield County. 1935.

First Lieutenant Thurmond in the South Carolina Defense Force while serving as Circuit Court Judge. c.1938.

Eleventh Circuit Court Judge Thurmond. 1939.

Lieutenant Colonel Thurmond at Governor's Island, NY. September 1943.

Colonel Thurmond drives a captured German vehicle near St. Mere Eglise in Normandy, France not long after D-Day. June 10, 1944.

Governor-elect Thurmond smiles after winning election. September 3, 1947.

James F. Byrnes congratulates Governor Thurmond at his inauguration. January 21, 1947.

Wedding of Governor Thurmond and Jean Crouch. November 7, 1947.

Governor Thurmond in his office at the Governor's Mansion. 1948.

Presidential candidate Governor Thurmond (right) greets Beverly Howard as South Carolina Congressman L. Mendel Rivers and his wife exit the airplane. November 2, 1948.

Thurmond (right) votes with, left to right, his sister, Miss Gertrude Thurmond; his mother, Mrs. J. W. Thurmond; and his wife, Jean Crouch Thurmond, in the 1948 Presidential election. November 2, 1948.

Captain David in Camden, SC on his trip to the West during Governor Thurmond's campaign for President of the United States. 1948.

Strom Thurmond in his law office, Aiken, SC. 1951.

Colonel Thurmond arrives at Fort Dix, NJ. September 1, 1954.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers a statement on National Defense Week to Colonel Thurmond, National President of the Reserve Officers Association of the United States; at right is Major M. H. Manchester, editor of the Reserve Officer magazine. January 12, 1955.

Senator Thurmond preparing the first draft of the "Southern Manifesto" repudiating the Supreme Court's 1954 school desegregation decision, assisted by his wife, Jean Crouch Thurmond. February 1956.

Senator and Mrs. Thurmond enjoy horseback riding in Aiken, SC. October 18, 1958.

Senator Thurmond is sworn in as a Major General in the U. S. Army Reserve at the Pentagon by Major General R. V. Lee, U.S. Army Adjutant General, as Secretary of the Army Wilber M. Bruckner looks on. April 25, 1960.

Senator Thurmond with Richard Nixon during Nixon's presidential campaign. 1968.

Senator Thurmond is sworn into office by Vice President Walter Mondale while his family looks on. January 15, 1979.

President Ronald Reagan greets Senator Thurmond at the White House. June 3, 1981.

Senator Thurmond with wife Nancy Moore Thurmond and his children Paul, Julie, Nancy Moore and Strom II. October 1987.