James Allen Graham
{{short description|American politician}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025}} {{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = James Allen Graham
| image = File:NC Politician Jim Graham.jpg
| imagesize =
| caption = Graham in 1992
| order =
| office = 13th North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture
| term_start = July 19, 1964
| appointed = Terry Sanford
| predecessor = Lynton Y. Ballentine
| successor = Meg Scott Phipps
| birth_date = {{birth date|1921|4|7}}
| birth_place = Cleveland, North Carolina
| death_date = {{death date and age|2003|11|20|1921|4|27}}
| death_place =
| resting_place =
| party = Democratic
| spouse = Helen Ida Kirk (October 30, 1942 – her death 1999)
| alma_mater = North Carolina State University (BS)
| children =
| nickname = Jim
}}
James Allen Graham (April 27, 1921 – November 20, 2003) was an American teacher and politician who served as the thirteenth North Carolina commissioner of agriculture.{{cite web|title=RESOLUTION 2005-25|url=http://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Resolutions/PDF/2005-2006/Res2005-25.pdf|publisher=North Carolina General Assembly|access-date=September 21, 2012}}
Early life
Graham was born on April 7, 1921, to James Turner and Laura Blanche Allen Graham in Cleveland, North Carolina.{{cite news|last=Wineka|first=Mark|title=Jim Graham: After 36 years, agriculture commissioner steps aside|url=http://www.salisburypost.com/2000nov/112200b.htm|access-date=September 21, 2012|newspaper=The Salisbury Post|date=November 22, 2000|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704210700/http://www.salisburypost.com/2000nov/112200b.htm|archive-date=July 4, 2008}} Graham was raised in Rowan County, North Carolina, on a 250-acre farm where the family raised cotton, cattle and grain.{{cite news|last=Yancy|first=Cecil H. Jr.|title='Sodfather,' Jim Graham, dies at 82|url=http://southeastfarmpress.com/sodfather-jim-graham-dies-82|access-date=September 21, 2012|newspaper=Southeast Farm Press|date=November 26, 2003}}
Education
Graham graduated from Cleveland High School in 1938, where he played on the High School football team. In 1942 Graham graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education{{Cite web |url=http://historicalstate.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog/0000034 |title=North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture James Allen Graham discusses his view of tobacco and cancer while lighting pipe. |website=Historical State - NCSU Libraries Special Collections |access-date=2012-09-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100610143657/http://historicalstate.lib.ncsu.edu/catalog/0000034 |archive-date=2010-06-10 |url-status=dead }} from North Carolina State College where he was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.Staff Writer (Summer 2012). [http://www.tke.org/files/file/the_teke/2012-summer.pdf "Tekes in Politics"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309083305/http://tke.org/files/file/the_teke/2012-summer.pdf |date=2016-03-09 }}. The Teke. pp. 12–13. Tau Kappa Epsilon. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
Family life
Commissioner of Agriculture
On July 19, 1964, Graham was appointed North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture, by Governor Terry Sanford, to fill the unexpired term of the late Lynton Y. Ballentine. Graham was elected Commissioner of Agriculture in November 1964 and reelected eight times.
Writings
- Graham, James A.: [https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/archivedexhibits/sodfather/eintroduction.html The Sodfather: A Friend of Agriculture], (1998).
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
- [http://www.ncagr.gov/paffairs/aghall/graham.htm N.C. Agricultural Hall of Fame Inductees.] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604112413/https://www.ncagr.gov/paffairs/aghall/graham.htm |date=2023-06-04 }}
- [https://www.lib.ncsu.edu/findingaids/mc00276 Guide to the NC State University Libraries Collection about Jim Graham 1940-2000]
{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=Lynton Y. Ballentine}}
{{s-ttl|title=Democratic nominee for North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture|years=1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1996}}
{{s-aft|after=Meg Scott Phipps}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
| title=13th North Carolina Commissioner of Agriculture
| before=Lynton Y. Ballentine
| after=Meg Scott Phipps
| years=July 19, 1964 – January 2001
}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, James Allen}}
Category:North Carolina commissioners of agriculture
Category:North Carolina State University alumni
Category:People from Cleveland, North Carolina