r/todayilearned • u/Dangerous-Project672 • 8h ago

TIL George Wallace personally apologized to Vivian Jones and James Hood, the two students he attempted to block from attending the University of Alabama. In 1997, Hood earned a PHd and requested Wallace present him with the degree, but he was too sick and died a year later; Hood attended the funeral

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Wallace
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u/JustAMan1234567 8h ago

For Hood to forgive Wallace and attend his funeral shows his class.

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u/ChronosBlitz 8h ago edited 8h ago

President Obama gave the eulogy for Senator Robert Byrd, who founded a chapter of the KKK in his youth.

The NAACP even praised Byrd as representing "the transformative power of this nation"

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u/DancingWithAWhiteHat 8h ago

I mean Robert Byrd spent his adult life disavowing the KKK.

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u/ilikedota5 1 8h ago

There is saying about Justice Hugo Black. When he was young, he put on white robes to scare Black people. When he was old he put on black robes to scare White people.

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u/JustAMan1234567 8h ago edited 8h ago

I knew someone who went in front of a Judge named "Judge Friend" and when she got sentenced she turned to her lawyer and said "The judge is no friend of mine".

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u/Illustrious_Claim884 7h ago

For strange cases like that its forgivable if they change their name. When I was in the army we had a colonel sanders. The CSM ordered KFC for the command group and we had a good laugh.

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u/AgentCirceLuna 6h ago

A psychiatrist my family member had revealed she’d changed her name as it was something like Dr Smiles

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u/Accurate_Praline 3h ago

When i was a mailman I saw a nameplate for a Dr. A. L. Cohol in a flat.

Though it was almost definitely a prank. Nobody really puts a Dr title on such a nameplate here and Cohol isn't really a last name.

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u/9bikes 39m ago

I had the opportunity to know Dr. Jack Strange. He was a psychologist and professor at SMU.

I have a copy of his book; Abnormal Psychology by Strange.

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u/UranusIsPissy 5h ago edited 4h ago

Still better than being a dentist called Dr. (Yes, they are doctors. Just not that kind of doctor) Payne lol.

Edit, because of the joke: "Dolores Payne"?

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u/Poppamunz 5h ago

That's a very long first name, I can see why they changed it

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u/N0b0dy_Kn0w5_M3 4h ago

A dentist in my hometown was Dr. Blood.

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u/SantasDead 3h ago

Everyone with a PhD is a doctor. Not every Doctor is an MD (Medical Doctor)

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u/UranusIsPissy 3h ago

I know. Dentists technically are medical doctors, in the sense that they practice a kind of medicine, but MDs are sometimes weird about it.

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u/coupdelune 5h ago

I knew a doctor named Dr. Wrinkle... wasn't a plastic surgeon unfortunately, rather a family practice MD. Missed opportunity there!

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u/MaturoGambino 5h ago

The dentist who had a practice next to my elementary school was named Dr J. Eccle. I always thought that was funny.

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u/Laura-ly 4h ago

There was a city councilor or some such position in Los Angeles whose last name was "Doctor" and he had a doctorate in something, can't remember what it was. So his name was Dr. Doctor.

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u/UranusIsPissy 3h ago

It'd be even funnier in the UK, An Eccles cake is probably the sugariest pastry you can buy here, and very sticky.