Elbert Lee Trinkle was born on March 12, 1876, in Wytheville, Virginia. ^[2]The Campus Environment Presidential Ad Hoc Committee, Campus Environment Presidential Ad Hoc Committee: Final Report (Phase I & II) (University of Mary Washington, 2019), 49. His father, a Civil War veteran, left him a large landed estate. ^[3]Ronald Heinemann, “E. Lee Trinkle (1876-1939): Early Years,” Encyclopedia Virginia: Virginia Humanities, accessed March 27, 2022, … Continue reading Trinkle was educated at Hampden-Sydney College and graduated in 1896 with BS and BA degrees. ^[4]Ronald Heinemann, “E. Lee Trinkle (1876-1939): Early Years,” Encyclopedia Virginia: Virginia Humanities, accessed March 27, 2022, … Continue reading He later attended the University of Virginia School of Law and graduated in 1898, after which he practiced law in Wytheville. ^[5]The Campus Environment Presidential Ad Hoc Committee, Campus Environment Presidential Ad Hoc Committee: Final Report (Phase I & II) (University of Mary Washington, 2019), 49. Beginning his political career in 1915, Trinkle served in the Senate of Virginia as a Democrat where he represented the counties of Giles, Bland, Pulaski, and Wythe. ^[6]Ronald Heinemann, “E. Lee Trinkle (1876-1939): Early Political Career,” Encyclopedia Virginia: Virginia Humanities, accessed March 27, 2022, … Continue reading He supported prohibition, women’s suffrage, and improved highways. ^[7]Ronald Heinemann, “E. Lee Trinkle (1876-1939): Early Political Career,” Encyclopedia Virginia: Virginia Humanities, accessed March 27, 2022, … Continue reading Trinkle was inaugurated as governor of Virginia in 1922 and served until 1926. ^[8]The Campus Environment Presidential Ad Hoc Committee, Campus Environment Presidential Ad Hoc Committee: Final Report (Phase I & II) (University of Mary Washington, 2019), 50. Trinkle was able to gain support for his agenda through his reorganization and funding of the state highway system, which was in terrible condition at the time he was elected governor. ^[9]Ronald Heinemann,”E. Lee Trinkle (1876-1939): Governor,” Encyclopedia Virginia: Virginia Humanities, accessed March 27, 2022, … Continue reading While he was governor and even after his term, he was an active supporter of the Fredericksburg State Normal and Industrial School for women (which was later known as the University of Mary Washington) and education in Virginia, where he served as the President of the Virginia Board of Education in 1930. ^[10]“Trinkle Hall,” Historic Buildings of the University of Mary Washington. Accessed April 5, 2022, https://buildings.umwblogs.org/trinkle-hall/. While serving on the state Board of Education, Trinkle advocated for more state spending on public education. ^[11]Ronald Heinemann,”E. Lee Trinkle (1876-1939): Later Years,” Encyclopedia Virginia: Virginia Humanities, accessed March 27, 2022, … Continue reading In 1924, Trinkle signed the Racial Integrity Act which required Virginians to register their race with the state and banned marriage between white and non-white people. ^[12]The Campus Environment Presidential Ad Hoc Committee, Campus Environment Presidential Ad Hoc Committee: Final Report (Phase I & II) (University of Mary Washington, 2019), 50. The act was designed to protect “whiteness” and defined a white person as someone “who has no trace whatsoever of any blood other than Caucasian.” ^[13]Ronald Heinemann,”E. Lee Trinkle (1876-1939): Governor,” Encyclopedia Virginia: Virginia Humanities, accessed March 27, 2022, … Continue reading This law later led to the Supreme Court case Loving v. Virginia (1967) which legalized interracial marriage. ^[14]Ronald Heinemann,”E. Lee Trinkle (1876-1939): Governor,” Encyclopedia Virginia: Virginia Humanities, accessed March 27, 2022, … Continue reading Also in 1924, Trinkle signed into law Chapter 46B of the Code of Virginia which authorized the sterilization of patients in state institutions. ^[15]The Campus Environment Presidential Ad Hoc Committee, Campus Environment Presidential Ad Hoc Committee: Final Report (Phase I & II) (University of Mary Washington, 2019), 51. This law was challenged by the Supreme Court case Buck v. Bell (1927) but was not repealed until 1974. ^[16]Ronald Heinemann,”E. Lee Trinkle (1876-1939): Governor,” Encyclopedia Virginia: Virginia Humanities, accessed March 27, 2022, … Continue reading On November 25, 1939, Trinkle died of a heart attack in Richmond. ^[17]Ronald Heinemann,”E. Lee Trinkle (1876-1939): Later Years,” Encyclopedia Virginia: Virginia Humanities, accessed March 27, 2022, … Continue reading