Fred Phelps

Fred Waldron Phelps Sr. (November 13, 1929 – March 19, 2014) was an American pastor, civil rights activist, anti-gay activist and disbarred lawyer. He was born in Meridian, Mississippi. He is best known for heading the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas. He was often called "the most hated man in America".

Early life
On September 3, 1935, when Phelps was five years old, his mother died of esophageal cancer.  After the death of their mother, Phelps and his younger sister were raised by their great-aunt Irene Jordan in Meridian. In 1950, Jordan died in a car accident. On December 25, 1944, Phelps' father married Olive Briggs, and Phelps and his sister were raised by their father and stepmother in Meridian.

Legal career
Phelps earned a law degree from Washburn University in 1964. He started the Phelps Chartered law firm. In 1989 Phelps' legal career ended.

Political views
Phelps was a member of the Democratic Party.

Death
Phelps died from congestive heart failure on the morning of March 19, 2014 in Topeka, Kansas. He was 84 years old.

References

Other websites




Category:1929 births
Category:2014 deaths
Category:American activists
Category:American Baptist ministers
Category:American civil rights activists
Category:Lawyers from Mississippi
Category:Anti-LGBT rights activists
Category:Democratic Party (United States) politicians
Category:Politicians from Mississippi
Category:People from Topeka, Kansas
Category:Lawyers from Kansas
Category:Politicians from Kansas
Category:People from Meridian, Mississippi