Former Nashville Mayor and Congressman Richard Fulton Dies at 91
Richard Fulton, who served first as Nashville's congressman and then as mayor for a combined 26 years has died at the age of 91. His death represents the passing of another political giant from the city's past.
A Navy veteran who served during World War II, Fulton was a progressive who supported civil rights for African-Americans when many of his generation didn't. He was the second mayor of the consolidated Metro Nashville government.
"Richard Fulton helped make modern-day Nashville what it is with his leadership as mayor, and he helped America live up to its promises by creating new freedoms with his votes for civil rights, voting rights, health care and fair housing in Congress," Mayor David Briley said in a written statement Wednesday night. "He was the right man at the right time to lead our city forward. I’ll never forget interning in Mayor Fulton’s office when I was a college student. Watching him work taught me a lot about Nashville, about building a better city and about leadership, and I still carry those lessons with me every day."
Fulton's political career began with a false start. In 1954, at the age of 29, he was elected to the state Senate to take the place of his brother Lyle, who had died from cancer. He was unseated, though, after a legal challenge based on the fact that he was too young to serve. Two years later, Fulton ran again and won.
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