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General Note

Accompanying note: "To Commander 'Charlie' Tribble A perfect shipmate; an excellent officer; and my best friend - Francis Whitehair - 27 November 1945."

Biographical Note

Born on October 1, 1900 in Winter Haven, Florida. He was made a partner of Landis, Fish, Hull & Whitehair in 1926. Co-investor/founder with Dick Pope of Cypress Gardens (Winter Haven, Fla.) opened in 1936. In the 1930s and 1940s, he was active in Florida Democratic Party machine politics ultimately becoming generally considered to be a major power-broker in Volusia County and State politics. Ran an unsuccessful campaign for Governor in 1940 but was defeated by Spessard Holland in the Democratic primary. During World War II, Whitehair served in the United States Navy Reserve and in 1943 he became attorney general of American Samoa. He served as Under Secretary of the Navy during the Truman Administration. Whitehair was a member of the State Road Board, forerunner of the Florida Dept. of Transportation, under Governor Charley Johns. Francis Whitehair died of heart failure on March 20, 1977 at the Emory University Medical Center in Atlanta, Georgia.