2 Quotes & Sayings By Lucius D Clay
Lucius D. Clay was born in Chickasaw County, Mississippi on March 15, 1892. He was orphaned at an early age and raised by his aunt and uncle. He attended school through the tenth grade, but little is known about this period of his life
After graduating from high school in 1912, he enlisted in the US Army and served until 1918, when he left to work for the US Department of War. From 1919-1922, Clay worked for the American Tract Society in Washington, D.C., before returning to Mississippi to serve as Commissioner of Agriculture for the state of Mississippi from 1922-1929. He was appointed special assistant to President Herbert Hoover in 1930, where he worked on farm issues.
In 1931, President Hoover appointed Clay the first director of the new Reconstruction Finance Corporation (RFC). The RFC was created by Congress on April 7, 1932, with its mission set out as "to make loans on terms which will enable farmers and others who otherwise could not obtain credit to carry out their present and future business activities." The RFC provided investment capital for small and medium sized businesses and farmers who were suffering because of the Great Depression. From 1934 to 1939 Clay served as special assistant to President Franklin Roosevelt and secretary of war.
In 1939 Clay returned to Mississippi as governor and served until 1942. In 1942 he was elected governor again and served until 1946 when he resigned to serve as vice president under President Harry Truman during World War II. In 1947 Clay resigned from Truman's cabinet due to health problems and returned to Mississippi where he served as governor until 1952 when he began serving as governor again until 1956.
He died on April 4, 1964 in Jackson and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson.