Samuel W. Roper (April 10, 1895 – March 1, 1986) was an American law enforcement official and Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK).
Samuel Roper | |
|---|---|
| 6th Imperial Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan | |
| In office August 18, 1949 – 1950 | |
| Preceded by | Samuel Green |
| Succeeded by | Eldon Edwards |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 10, 1895 |
| Died | March 1, 1986 (aged 90) Chiefland, Florida |
| Cause of death | Kidney failure |
Roper was an Atlanta, Georgia police officer and the second Director of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. After leaving law enforcement in 1949, Roper succeeded Samuel Green as Imperial Wizard of the KKK, and held that position until 1950.[1] His successor was Eldon Edwards.[2] He has also been directly implicated in the September 12, 1936, lynching and murder of Thomas Finch in Atlanta, Georgia.[3]
Roper moved to Florida in 1972 and was a resident of Chiefland, Florida at the time of his death. He died of kidney failure at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Gainesville, Florida on March 1, 1986.
References
edit- ^ Staff report (August 28, 1949). Ex-Chief of Georgia G-men is new head of Ku Klux Klan. Chicago Tribune
- ^ Staff report (March 4, 1986). Samuel W. Roper, 90, was second director of GBI in early 1940s. Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- ^ Rosenwald, Michael S. (July 19, 2020). "A black man accused of rape, a white officer in the Klan, and a 1936 lynching that went unpunished". Washington Post. Retrieved July 28, 2020.
External links
edit- Wall of Wizards via Ku Klux Klan
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