(nephew of James Thomas Heflin), a Senator from Alabama; born in Poulan, Worth County, Ga., June 19, 1921; attended the Alabama public schools; graduated, Birmingham Southern College 1942; graduated, University of Alabama School of Law, Tuscaloosa, Ala., 1948; admitted to the Alabama bar in 1948 and commenced practice in Tuscumbia, Ala.; served in the United States Marine Corps 1942-1946; law professor; chief justice, Alabama supreme court 1971-1977; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate in November 1978; reelected in 1984 and again in 1990 and served from January 3, 1979, to January 3, 1997; not a candidate for reelection in 1996; chairman, Select Committee on Ethics (Ninety-sixth, One Hundredth through One Hundred Second Congresses); was a resident of Tuscumbia, Ala., until his death due to a heart attack on March 29, 2005; interment in Oakwood Cemetery, Tuscumbia, Ala.