Henry E. Howell, was born on September 5, 1920 in Norfolk, Virginia. He was marred to Elizabeth McCarthy of Portsmouth, Virginia and they had three children- Mary, Susan, and Hank.

Authors Avatar

Henry E. Howell, was born on September 5, 1920 in Norfolk, Virginia.  He was marred to Elizabeth McCarthy of Portsmouth, Virginia and they had three children- Mary, Susan, and Hank.

While growing up in Norfolk, Howell attended Maury High School and graduated in 1938.  After high school Henry went on to attend the Norfolk Division of the College of William and Mary, now named Old Dominion University.  Following his graduation from there he continued his education at the University of Virginia and obtained his law degree in 1943. 1

After receiving his law degree Howell moved to West Palm Beach, Florida to practice.  He later returned to Virginia and eventually formed his own law firm called Howell, Anninos, and Daugherty.  He specialized in admiralty and tort law.

Henry Howell first ran for office in 1953.  He ran in the Democratic primary for a seat in the House of Delegates, and he was defeated.  In 1953 and in 1965 Howell was elected as a Democrat to Virginia’s House of Delegates.  Howell was then elected to the state Senate in 1967.  In 1969 Henry made his first of three attempts at being elected as the Governor of Virginia.  The first time he ran as a Democrat, but in his later attempts, in 1973 and also in 1977, he ran as an Independent. According to Hank Howell, Henry’s son, he was defeated due to racial issues, mainly bussing. 2 He lost that election by only fifteen hundred votes. Henry Howell was elected to the Lt. Governors office as an Independent in 1971.

During Howell’s lifetime he worked tirelessly to protect Virginian’s who could not protect themselves.  His slogan was “Keep the Big Boys Honest.” Howell enjoyed taking on the “big boys” to court.  Howell was always keeping big business on their toes.3 He also brought suits against the state's poll tax, against its appropriation of federal impact funds designed to go to various localities in Virginia, and against its failure to give urban districts their due representation in the Virginia General Assembly. He also frequently appeared as a spokesman for consumers before the State Corporation Commission to oppose rate increases requested by public utilities and insurance companies. In a number of cases he went on to file suits that eventually neglected unfavorable S.C.C. rulings. His activity in this sphere continued during his term as Lt. Governor .4

Join now!

        Hank Howell said that one of the other reasons that he was elected Governor of Virginia was because, Henry was a threat to the people with money invested in the business that he attacked.5 Henry was on a mission to expose business and the people who were corrupt. These people (people with money invested) wanted things to stay the same. Henry disturbed the status quo. If he were elected as governor, he would have the ability to cut into their profits.

One business Howell took on was the Virginia Electric and Power Company, or better known to many Virginians as ...

This is a preview of the whole essay