Gil Carmichael

Gilbert Ellzey Carmichael (June 27, 1927 – January 31, 2016) was an American businessman and politician. Born in Columbia, Mississippi, he attended Texas A&M University and served in the United States Coast Guard during the Korean War, earning a Silver Lifesaving Medal for helping rescue crewmen from a sinking tanker. In June 1950 Carmichael was hired by the Dow Jones & Company to sell its newspaper, The Wall Street Journal. After eight years, he joined a friend in distributing cars in Shreveport, Louisiana. He later became a partner in a car dealership in Meridian, Mississippi, before taking over the business. A member of the Republican Party, he became involved in politics in the 1960s, making two unsuccessful bids for a seat in the Mississippi State Legislature. Carmichael also ran for a U.S. Senate seat in 1972 and in 1975 ran for the office of Governor of Mississippi, the first serious Republican contender for the post in decades. He lost a narrow race and made another unsuccessful bid in 1979. He also launched an unsuccessful independent campaign in 1983 to be elected Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi. From the 1970s to the 1990s he served on various national transportation advisory boards. He died in 2016.

Early life and business career

Gilbert Ellzey Carmichael was born on June 27, 1927, in Columbia, Mississippi, United States to Calvin Ellzey Carmichael and Clyde Myrna Smith Carmichael. He married and had a son. Carmichael was commissioned as an officer in the United States Coast Guard during the Korean War. he took only 35.7 percent of the vote, losing to Brad Dye. Carmichael worked in the Federal Railroad Administration from 1989 to 1993 He created the Transportation Institute at the University of Denver in 1996. From 1993 to 2002 he wrote a column for Progressive Railroading. Carmichael died of a heart attack at Anderson Regional Medical Center in Meridian, Mississippi on January 31, 2016. A funeral was held for him at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Meridian on February 5.