E. Blackburn Moore

Blackburn Moore served in the Virginia House of Delegates for more than 35 years, and as Speaker of the House for 18 years. He was, according to the Washington Post and the New York Times, "one of the towering figures of conservativism in the Byrd era." Blackburn "Blackie" Moore was one of Harry F. Byrd's closest political allies and friends. Moore gained a reputation for quiet, capable, but strongly conservative leadership of the House. Political observers in Richmond claimed he was "capable of walking knee-deep through a pile of leaves without making a rustle." Moore entered the House of Delegates in 1933, the same year Byrd was appointed to fill a U.S. Senate seat. He became Speaker in 1950 and served until his retirement in 1967. (Washington Post, April 6, 1967)