Scope and Contents Melvin Thompson, the first person elected to the office of lieutenant governor of Georgia, served as the state's governor in 1947-48. He is best remembered for his fight with Herman Talmadge over the governorship after the death of Governor-elect Eugene Talmadge in 1946. The papers of M.E. Thompson consist primarily of correspondence relating to the Three Governors Controversy and Thompson’s subsequent campaign years.  The major correspondents include Jimmy Carter, Phil Landrum, Herman...