Crawford Martin

Crawford Collins Martin (March 13, 1916 – December 29, 1972) was an American politician who served as the 68th secretary of state of Texas from 1963 to 1966 and as the 44th attorney general of Texas from 1967 until his death in 1972. A member of the Democratic Party, Martin previously represented the 12th district in the Texas Senate from 1949 to 1963.

Early life Martin was born to Will M. Martin and Daisy (Beavers) Martin at Hillsboro, Texas, on March 13, 1916. He was educated in the public schools, attended Hillsboro Junior College graduating in 1935. He graduated with a law degree from Cumberland University's law school (now the Cumberland Law School at Samford University) in Tennessee after attending the University of Texas at Austin, first. He was admitted to the Texas bar in 1939 and commenced the practice of law with his brother, William, in Hillsboro. Martin married Margaret Ann Mash in 1941. During World War II, Martin enlisted in the United States Coast Guard.

Political career Mayor and state senator After the war, Martin was elected Mayor of Hillsboro in 1947 until 1948. In 1948, he was elected as a Democrat to the Texas Senate representing district 12, which his father had previously represented. The 12th district comprised all of the counties of Ellis, Hill, Hood, Johnson, Somervell in North Central Texas. During his fourteen-year career in the Senate he served on a number of committees, including Finance. He sponsored legislation in insurance reform and securities regulation, and he was elected president pro tem of the Senate in 1955. In addition, in 1957 he sponsored the state's first law requiring the registration of lobbyists.

Martin served in the Senate from 1949 to 1963, when he ran for Lieutenant Governor of Texas. In that race, he was defeated by Preston Smith in the Democratic primary. The next year, however, Governor John Connally appointed Martin as Secretary of State. Martin served as Secretary of State until 1966 when he ran for and was elected Attorney General of Texas.

Martin died of a heart attack on December 29, 1972, just three days before he was to leave office. He is buried in the State Cemetery in Austin.