Sam Ervin

After Ervin's retirement no one held his former Senate seat for more than one term until 2010 when Richard Burr first elected in 2004 won re-election. He was 88 years old. (In his autobiography "Preserving the Constitution" Ervin said he later changed his mind on the Brown decision stating that the decision to the extent it eliminated mandatory segregation was correct but that forced integration required under later decisions was improper.

(September 27 1896 – April 23 1985) was an American politician. He is remembered for his work in the investigation committees that brought down Senator Joseph McCarthy in 1954 and especially his investigation in 1972 and 1973 of the Watergate scandal that led to the resignation in 1974 of President Richard Nixon.