predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place imagesize party office birth_date term_start image article_title term_end birth_name
w. o. downs robert lindbergh jack owen robert lindbergh '' position abolished '' kenneth hammond march 10 , 1973 -lrb- aged 75 -rrb- selma , alabama , united states birmingham , alabama , united states 220px democratic , states ' rights democratic birmingham alabama public service commission commissioner of public safety 12th president of the july 11 , 1897 1937 1957 january 18 , 1965 bull_connor _ -lrb- 1960 -rrb- . jpg bull connor
 1952 1963 january 17 , 1972 theophilus eugene connor
bull connor

theophilus eugene connor , known as bull connor -lrb- july 11 , 1897 -- march 10 , 1973 -rrb- , served as a commissioner of public safety for the city of birmingham , alabama , during the american civil rights movement .
a democrat , connor 's office , under the city commission government , gave him responsibility for administrative oversight of the birmingham fire department and the birmingham police department , which had their own chiefs .
connor 's actions to enforce racial segregation and deny civil rights to black citizens , especially during the southern christian leadership conference 's birmingham campaign of 1963 , made him an international symbol of racism .
bull connor directed the use of fire hoses and police attack dogs against civil rights activists ; that included the children of many protestors .
these tactics exposed the extent of racism when shown on national television .
they served as one of the catalysts for major social and legal change in the southern united states and contributed to passage by the united states congress of the civil rights act of 1964 .
