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RICHARD IRVINE MANNING III was born in Sumter County, South Carolina. He attended the University of Virginia from 1877 to 1879. A banker, businessman, and cotton farmer, he was President of the American Products Export and Import Corporation; the National Bank of Sumter; the Bank of Mayesville, South Carolina; the Cotton Warehouse Company; and the South Carolina Land and Settlement Association. He also was director of the Sumter Telephone Company, the Telephone Manufacturing Company, the Magneto Manufacturing Company, and the Palmetto Fire Insurance Company, and he was Chairman of the Board of the People's State Bank of South Carolina. He was a trustee of both Clemson College and the University of South Carolina. Manning was a member of both the South Carolina House of Representatives and the South Carolina Senate, serving as President Pro Tempore of the Senate in 1905. During Manning's two terms as governor, the State Board of Charities and Corrections and the State Highway Department were created and educational funding was doubled. World War I broke out during his second term, and the state appointed a Commission on Civic Preparedness for War. After leaving office, Manning returned to his agricultural and business interests. He also was a member of the U.S. Peace Committee.

Sources:

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 4. Westport, CT: Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. 23.  New York: James T. White & Company.

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