Former Congressman Ray Thornton and wife Betty. Photographed by Russell Cothren
(Photo: Submitted)
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – The University Libraries announce the acquisition of the
personal and professional papers of alumnus Ray Thornton, who served, during
his long public career as congressman, Arkansas attorney general, Arkansas
Supreme Court justice and president of the University of Arkansas and Arkansas
State University. As congressman he received national attention while serving
on the House Judiciary Committee that investigated the Watergate burglaries and
drafted the articles of impeachment against President Nixon.
“I am so pleased that scholars and
historians will have access through my eyes to these interesting and
instructive moments I was privileged to experience,” said Thornton. “That my
life’s work is being archived and managed by the University of Arkansas and
through its splendid facilities and expert librarians assures the highest
possible use for many years to come. When I walk the U of A campus, it still
feels like home. So it’s fitting that my documents and mementoes be entrusted
to an institution so close to my heart.”
Thornton was born in Conway
and grew up in Sheridan. He graduated high school at 16 and attended the
University of Arkansas. After two years, he was awarded the Navy Holloway
Program Scholarship to attend Yale University. He graduated from Yale with a
bachelor of arts degree in international relations in 1950. Thornton attended
the University of Texas Law School for a time before serving three years in the
United States Navy with the Pacific Fleet. Following his service, Thornton
returned to Arkansas and enrolled in the University of Arkansas School of Law
and served as president of student government. He married Betty Jo Mann of
Sheridan.
Thornton completed his law degree at the University of
Arkansas School of Law and was admitted to the Arkansas bar in 1956. He practiced
corporate law for 14 years and was elected attorney general of Arkansas in 1970
and served one term. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the
4th Congressional District and served three terms. Thornton chaired the
Subcommittee on Science, Research and Technology and served on the House
Judiciary Committee that investigated the Watergate burglaries and drafted the
articles of impeachment against President Nixon.
Thornton returned to Arkansas in 1979 to serve as executive
director of the Joint Educational Consortium of Ouachita Baptist University and
Henderson State University. He served as president of Arkansas State University
from 1980 to 1984 and president of the University of Arkansas from 1984 to 1989.
He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the 2nd Congressional
District in 1990, serving three terms until his successful race for the
Arkansas Supreme Court in 1996. He served as a justice for eight years,
retiring in 2004. Thornton has served as the first Public Service Fellow for
the University of Arkansas at Little Rock William H. Bowen School of Law. In
2009, he was appointed as the first chairman of the Arkansas Scholarship
Lottery and held that position for a year. Thornton and his wife live in Little
Rock.
“Congressman
Thornton’s papers document the rich military, political, business and academic careers
of a remarkable Arkansas native,” said Timothy G. Nutt, head of special
collections. “The positions held by Congressman Thornton throughout his long
career as a public servant are testaments to the love and respect he has for
the state. He has given back to Arkansas in a multitude of ways, and we are
honored to preserve his legacy of accomplishments at the University of Arkansas
Libraries.”
To commemorate the gift, Chancellor G. David Gearhart
honored the Thorntons with a luncheon at the Wallace W. and Jama M. Fowler
House. After Thornton’s collection is organized, it will be open to researchers
in the special collections department in Mullins Library.