William Hampton King (October 1, 1909 – May 8, 1991) was an American auditor who served as State Auditor of Mississippi from 1964 to 1984.
Hamp King | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Auditor of Mississippi | |
| In office January 1964 – 1984 | |
| Preceded by | William Donelson Neal |
| Succeeded by | Ray Mabus |
| Personal details | |
| Born | October 1, 1909 Heidelberg, Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | May 8, 1991 |
| Political party | Democratic Party |
| Spouse | Douglas Banks |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | University of Mississippi Nashville YMCA Night Law School |
Early life
editW. Hampton King was born on October 1, 1909, in Heidelberg, Mississippi. He attended local public schools and Hinds Junior College before earning a bachelor's degree at the University of Mississippi and a graduate degree from the Nashville YMCA Night Law School. He became a certified public accountant in 1955.[1] He married Douglas Banks in July 1938[2] and had two daughters with her.[1] After living in Tennessee and North Carolina, he returned to Mississippi in 1947, moving to Cleveland. In 1956, he moved to Jackson.[3]
Career
editKing worked variously as a schoolteacher, social worker, concrete inspector, and cannery manager[1][4] before being hired by the Mississippi State Department of Audit in 1953 as a field auditor. In 1956, he was made an assistant director before being promoted to director six years later.[1] King ran for the office of State Auditor in 1963, defeating Dewey Mark Norton in the Democratic primary.[5] He was sworn-in in January 1964,[1] becoming the first certified public accountant to hold the office.[6] He was reelected to the office four times,[7] serving until 1984.[4] He reportedly favored Mason Shelby as his successor, but Shelby was defeated in the 1983 Democratic primary by Ray Mabus.[8] At the time he left the auditorship, the office was delinquent for 581 fiscal years worth of audits.[9]
Later life
editKing died from heart failure on May 8, 1991.[4] The Mississippi Society of Certified Accountants created the Hamp King Award—named in honor of the auditor—to recognize talented accounting students.[10]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e Mississippi Official and Statistical Register 1981, p. 38.
- ^ "Blue Ridge Staff Couple Are Married" (PDF). Asheville Citizen-Times (city ed.). July 8, 1934. p. C5.
- ^ "State Auditor: Hamp King Begins Third Term In Office At Capitol". The Clarion-Ledger. January 18, 1972. p. 8B.
- ^ a b c "Deaths Elsewhere: W.H. "Hamp" King". Tampa Bay Times. May 8, 1991. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
- ^ Carpenter, David (August 7, 1963). "Patterson In -- Gartin Way Ahead". The Chronicle. Vol. 118, no. 183. United Press International. p. 1.
- ^ "Hamp King retiring as top officer of national group". The Northside Sun. August 16, 1973. p. 5.
- ^ Crockett 2003, p. 87.
- ^ Crockett 2003, pp. 87–88.
- ^ Crockett 2003, pp. 88–89.
- ^ "MSCPA Honors 2020 Hamp King Award Winner". MSCPA. Mississippi Society of Certified Accountants. May 20, 2021. Retrieved May 31, 2022.
Works cited
edit- Crockett, James R. (2003). Operation Pretense: The FBI's Sting on County Corruption in Mississippi. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781578064960.
- Mississippi Official and Statistical Register 1980–1984. Jackson: Mississippi Secretary of State. 1981. OCLC 1131544573.