J. L. M. (Jabez Lamar Monroe) Curry

Born in Georgia in 1825 and raised in Alabama, J. L. M. Curry studied at the University of Georgia and Harvard Law School before building a wide-ranging career in law, politics, religion, and education. He served in the Alabama legislature and in the U.S. House of Representatives, and during the Civil War he was connected with the Confederate government and army.

In the years after the war, Curry turned much of his energy toward rebuilding through education. He became a Baptist minister, served as president of Howard College (now Samford University), and later worked as a leading advocate for better public schools across the South, especially through his efforts with the Peabody Education Fund.

He also served as U.S. minister to Spain in the 1880s. Remembered today as an important but complicated figure, Curry is often noted both for his early defense of slavery and secession and for his later influence on southern public education and teacher training.