Bo Callaway facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bo Callaway
Callaway's portrait in 2008
11th United States Secretary of the Army
In office May 15, 1973 – July 3, 1975
President	Richard Nixon Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Robert F. Froehlke
Succeeded by	Norman R. Augustine (acting) Martin R. Hoffmann
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 3rd district
In office January 3, 1965 – January 3, 1967
Preceded by	Tic Forrester
Succeeded by	Jack Brinkley
Personal details
Born	Howard Hollis Callaway (1927-04-02)April 2, 1927 LaGrange, Georgia, U.S.
Died	March 15, 2014(2014-03-15) (aged 86) Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
Political party	Democratic (Before 1964) Republican (1964–2014)
Spouse	Beth Walton ​ ​ (m. 1949; her death 2009)​
Children	5
Relatives	Fuller Earle Callaway (grandfather) Terry Considine (son-in-law)
Education	Georgia Tech United States Military Academy (BS)
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1949–1952
Rank	Lieutenant
Battles/wars	Korean War

Howard Hollis Callaway (April 2, 1927 – March 15, 2014) was an American businessman and politician. He served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for the 3rd district of Georgia. He also served as the 11th United States Secretary of the Army.

Life and career

Callaway in 1965

Callaway was born in LaGrange, Georgia, the son of Virginia Hollis and Cason Callaway, and the grandson of Fuller Earle Callaway. Callaway attended Episcopal High School, graduating in 1944. Callaway then attended Georgia Tech and the United States Military Academy, where he earned a degree in military engineering in 1949. He served in the United States Army during the Korean War. He was discharged in 1953 and returned to Georgia to help his parents develop and run Callaway Gardens.

Political career in Georgia

Like many Southerners, Callaway was initially a Democrat, but switched to the Republican Party due to national Democrats' more liberal stances against segregation. In 1964, he was elected as a Republican to represent Georgia's 3rd congressional district in the United States House of Representatives, succeeding Tic Forrester. Callaway was the first Republican to represent Georgia in Congress since Reconstruction, riding a Republican wave in the Deep South resulting from the appeal of Barry Goldwater to conservative Southerners.

Rather than run for re-election, Callaway ran as the Republican candidate in the 1966 Georgia gubernatorial election. The election was exceptionally close due to a split within the state Democratic Party between supporters of segregationist Lester Maddox and liberal former governor Ellis Arnall; after Maddox won the Democratic nomination, Arnall continued his campaign as a write-in candidate. Ultimately, Callaway won a plurality but not a majority of votes cast, which under Georgia law meant that the election was thrown to the Georgia General Assembly. After a series of lawsuits reaching the United States Supreme Court, the authority of the legislature was ultimately upheld, and Maddox was elected governor by the heavily Democratic legislature.

Callaway was succeeded in Congress by Jack Brinkley.

Later career

Callaway resided in Colorado in the 1970s. In 1973, he was appointed by Richard Nixon to serve as the 11th United States Secretary of the Army. He served under Nixon and Gerald Ford and was succeeded by Norman R. Augustine in 1975.

Callaway served as Ford's campaign manager, but resigned following accusations that he had used undue political influence to ensure the expansion of a ski resort; he was replaced by Rogers Morton.

Callaway ran for the Republican nomination in the 1980 United States Senate election in Colorado. He was supported by Senator William L. Armstrong, but ultimately lost the nomination to Mary Estill Buchanan. After that, he served as the chairperson of the Colorado Republican Party until 1987.

Callaway died in March 2014 from complications of intracerebral hemorrhage in Columbus, Georgia, at the age of 86.