William C. Marland
He is best known for his early attempts to tax companies that depleted the state's natural resources, especially coal, as well as overseeing implementation of school desegregation during the Civil Rights Movement when other Southern governors opposed it.Son of a mining boss, Joseph Wesley and Maude Casey Marland, he was born in Johnston City, Illinois on March 26, 1918.As Governor, Marland advocated the desegregation of schools, expansion of the state parks and other recreational facilities, improved unemployment and workers' compensation laws, and an industrial development program.[6] Knowing that the story was about to break and concerned about damage to his family, he called a press conference and spoke candidly about his alcoholism, how he overcame it, and his reasons for driving a taxi: to hold in check a level of ambition that may have contributed to his drinking.He was soon invited to appear on Jack Paar's television talk show, and was hired to run a West Virginia horse racing concern.