deLesseps Story Morrison

Who was deLesseps Story Morrison?

deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison, Sr., was an attorney and politician, the mayor of New Orleans from 1946 to 1961. He also served as an appointee of U.S. President John F. Kennedy as the United States ambassador to the Organization of American States between 1961 and 1963. New Orleans' peak population was reached during Morrison's mayoralty, when the 1960 census recorded 627,525 inhabitants, a 10 percent increase from the 1950 figures. Morrison ran three primary campaigns for the Louisiana Democratic gubernatorial nomination, but was not successful. Because Louisiana African Americans had been effectively disfranchised since the turn of the century, the Democratic primary was the only competitive election in the one-party state.

deLesseps Morrison was born in New Roads, the seat of Pointe Coupee Parish; he is the half-brother of Jacob Haight Morrison. The former mayor died in an airplane crash in Ciudad Victoria, Mexico.