George Bell Timmerman
Class of 1937
Hometown: Batesburg, SC
- Timmerman was a World War II veteran who served as the 105th governor of South Carolina from 1955-1959. He previously served as the state's Lieutenant Governor from 1947 to 1955.
- Timmerman graduated from the University of South Carolina Law School in 1937, and practiced law until the outbreak of World War II, when he enlisted and served as an officer in the US Navy. While on convoy duty his ship was torpedoed and he spent three days on a life boat before being rescued at sea. Later, he commanded a rocket launcher ship during the invasion of Okinawa.
- During Timmerman's term as governor, he opposed integration, and joined with governors of Georgia, Mississippi, and Virginia to urge adoption of legislation to limit federal involvement in school desegregation and also spoke against federal aid to education. The Citadel administration and Corps of Cadets categorically repudiate and reject racial discrimination of any kind.