Long Day

Long (Huey P.) Day

August 30

Huey Long was the colorful and often controversial governor of Louisiana from 1928 until 1932. Although he was impeached only a year after he'd been elected, he refused to yield the governorship to his lieutenant governor, a political enemy, and held on to the office until someone he liked better was elected. By then he'd been elected to the U.S. Senate, where he took what many considered to be an extreme stand on the redistribution of wealth, and openly rebelled against the administration of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a fellow Democrat.
In 1934-35 Long reorganized the Louisiana state government and set up what amounted to a dictatorship for himself. He exercised direct control over the judiciary, the police, firefighters, schoolteachers, election officials, and tax assessors while still serving as a U.S. Senator. As he was leaving the state capitol building on September 8, 1935, he was shot and killed by Dr. Carl Weiss, the son-in-law of one of his many political enemies.
Despite his controversial political activities, Long was revered by the rural people of the state, who supported his Share-Our-Wealth Society promising a minimum income for every American family. His birthday, August 30, is a special observance in Louisiana which the governor can declare a legal holiday. It has been observed since 1937.

CONTACTS:
Louisiana Secretary of State, Archives Department
3851 Essen Ln.
P.O. Box 94125
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
225-922-1000; fax: 225-922-0433
www.sec.state.la.us

SOURCES:
AmerBkDays-2000, p. 616
AnnivHol-2000, p. 144
DictDays-1988, p. 58
OxYear-1999, p. 351

Celebration day: Aug 30