The Honorable Ernest "Fritz" Hollings

A native of Charleston, S.C., U.S. Senator Fritz Hollings graduated from The Citadel in 1942. He then served in World War II as a U.S. Army officer in the North African and European campaigns. He was decorated with the Bronze Star and received seven other campaign ribbons. When Hollings returned from the war, he entered the University of South Carolina School of Law. Working through holidays and summers, he graduated in 1947, a year earlier than usual.

The following year, at age 26, Hollings was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives, beginning his long career of public service. In his second term, Hollings’ peers voted him Speaker Pro Tempore, a post to which he was re-elected in 1953. Two years later, he became Lieutenant Governor. In 1958, recognizing his leadership, achievements and dedication to public service, the people of South Carolina chose him for the highest office in the state. At 36, he was the youngest man in the 20th century to be elected Governor of South Carolina.

In 1966, South Carolinians elected Hollings to the United States Senate, an office which he was re-elected seven times. He retired in January of 2005 as the fifth most senior member of the Senate and the fourth most senior Democrat. Hollings was also the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation.  He is the father of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and his hunger tours in the 1960s led to the food program for Women, Infants and Children. Senator Hollings began working with the Medical University of South Carolina in the late 1980s to garner the resources needed for a world class cancer program, and he was instrumental in the establishment of the first dedicated campus cancer care and research facility — Hollings Cancer Center — in 1993. He also was instrumental in the center's seven floor addition in 2005. In January 2005, upon his retirement from the Senate, Senator Hollings and his wife Peatsy returned home to the Low Country. Hollings continues to support the Medical University of South Carolina, and we are indeed honored that he has established his legacy at our Center.