James Strom Thurmond Sr., commonly known as Strom Thurmond, was a long-serving U.S. Senator from South Carolina from 1954 until his retirement in 2003, making his nearly 48-year tenure one of the longest in U.S. history. Born into a politically influential family in Edgefield, South Carolina, he initially pursued a career in education and law after graduating from Clemson College, working as a teacher, athletic coach, and superintendent of education. He studied law under his father's guidance, was admitted to the South Carolina Bar in 1930, and held various local positions, including city and county attorney, state senator from 1933 to 1938, and circuit court judge from 1938 to 1941. During World War II, he served as a highly decorated lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army. Elected governor of South Carolina in 1947 and serving until 1951, he focused on infrastructure and education while staunchly defending segregation. His national prominence arose from his segregationist views, epitomized by his 1948 presidential run as the Dixiecrat candidate opposing President Harry S. Truman's civil rights platform; he won four Southern states and over a million votes. A key figure in Southern politics, he was elected to the Senate in 1954 as a Democrat and famously conducted a 24-hour, 18-minute filibuster in 1957 against the Civil Rights Act, the longest in Senate history at the time. A vocal opponent of civil rights legislation throughout the 1950s and 1960s, he switched to the Republican Party in 1964, aligning with the party's Southern Strategy and transitioning to become a pillar of conservative politics and a key figure in Southern Republican politics. Over his long Senate tenure, he chaired key committees like Armed Services and Judiciary, influencing defense policy, judicial appointments, and conservative legislation, with later key roles in judiciary matters solidifying his status as a conservative icon. His career was marred by controversies, including his segregationist past and later allegations of racial insensitivity. In his final years, he faced criticism for apparent cognitive decline, with reports indicating he was 'non compos mentis' by the late 1990s, yet he remained in office until age 100. He died in 2003, leaving a complex legacy as a symbol of Southern resistance to civil rights and a transformative figure in conservative politics.