In the latest episode of History for Cocktail Parties, James Ottley and Thornton Kennedy discuss one of the strangest chapters in American political history: Georgia’s “Three Governors Controversy” of 1946–47. When governor-elect Eugene Talmadge died before taking office, chaos erupted under the Gold Dome. In a spectacle equal parts tragedy, farce, and backroom brawl, three men — outgoing governor Ellis Arnall, lieutenant governor-elect Melvin E. Thompson, and Talmadge’s son Herman — each declared themselves the rightful governor. For weeks, Georgia had three governors with locked offices, a hidden state seal and even a state trooper standoff.
