Calvin Reville "Cal" Ledbetter Jr. was born April 29, 1929, in Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas.
Ledbetter earned a bachelor's degree from Princeton University and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Arkansas School of Law. After graduating law school, he briefly practiced with Mehaffy, Smith & Williams law firm in Little Rock before joining the US Army JAG Corps. Ledbetter was stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, from 1953 to 1957.
When he returned to the States, Ledbetter attended Northwestern University and received a Ph.D. in political science in 1961. He was a professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock beginning in 1960 and was chair of the political science department for ten years. Ledbetter became dean of liberal arts in 1978 and chaired the National Conference of Academic Deans.
In 1966, Ledbetter was elected to the Arkansas House of Representatives, where he served for ten years. He was on the board of trustees for Philander Smith College and St. Vincent Infirmary. Ledbetter was the chairman of the college and universities section of the United Way.
Ledbetter passed away on August 10, 2013.
#1: Composite image of early photo of Cal Ledbetter and still frame from Pryor Center video interview
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#2: Cal Ledbetter's father, Calvin Ledbetter Sr., 1930
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#3: Cal Ledbetter's wife, Brownie Williams (Ledbetter), with her siblings (left to right), June, Quendy, and Bish, and their parents, Helon and Bill Williams; Tall Timber Jersey Farm, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1941
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#4: Cal Ledbetter, ca. 1938
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#5: Brownie Williams Ledbetter's sisters, June and Quendy Williams, and mother, Helon Williams, at Tall Timber Jersey Farm, Little Rock, Arkansas, ca. mid-1940s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#6: Brownie Williams (Ledbetter) (standing, left) with her mother, Helon, sisters, June and Quendy, brother, Bish, and father, Bill; 1946
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#7: Cal Ledbetter's class at Princeton University, 1949
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#8: Cal Ledbetter (2nd row from top, 5th from left) with his class at Princeton University, 1951
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#9: Cal Ledbetter, 1953
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#10: Brownie Ledbetter, Germany, 1954
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#11: Brownie Ledbetter (right) with Eleanor Roosevelt, 1955
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#12: Cal Ledbetter's campaign headquarters, Little Rock, Arkansas
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#13: Cal Ledbetter (center) with his wife, Brownie
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#14: Cal Ledbetter
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#15: Cal Ledbetter's son, Grainger, held by Brownie Ledbetter's cousin, Alfred Williams; Tall Timber Jersey Farm, Little Rock, Arkansas, ca. 1957
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#16: Cal and Brownie Ledbetter's children, Jeffrey, Grainger, and Snow, 1963
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#17: Cal and Brownie Ledbetter's children, Jeffrey, Snow, and Grainger, Little Rock, Arkansas, 1963
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#18: Cal Ledbetter (center), 1967
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#19: Cal Ledbetter (standing, center) with Governor Winthrop Rockefeller (seated)
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#20: Cal Ledbetter (3rd from right) with Governor Winthrop Rockefeller (seated) and other members of the legislature; inscription reads, "Cal Ledbetter, All the best, Win Rockefeller"; ca. 1969
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#21: Cal Ledbetter's son, Jeffrey, 1982
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#22: Cal Ledbetter with his son, Jeffrey, wife, Brownie, and son, Quentin
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#23: Cal Ledbetter in his office at University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 1984
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#24: Brownie Ledbetter, ca. early 1990s
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#25: Cal and Brownie Ledbetter at his retirement from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 1997
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#26: Cal Ledbetter (center), Arctic Ocean, 1998
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#27: Cal Ledbetter, Panama, 1999
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#28: Cal and Brownie Ledbetter, Panama, 1999
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#29: Cal Ledbetter speaking at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2002
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#30: Cal Ledbetter (left), University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2002
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#31: Cal Ledbetter with Joel Anderson (left) and Ben Fry, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, July 15, 2003
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#32: Cal and Brownie Ledbetter with grandchildren, Campbell, Mary, and Jeff Ledbetter, and their cousin, Morgan Benard (front); University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2004
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#33: Cal Ledbetter with his framily (l-r): son-in-law, Chris Moen; Cal Ledbetter; daughter, Snow Ledbetter Moen; grandson, Jeffrey Curry Ledbetter; daughter-in-law, Sherry Ledbetter; son, Grainger Ledbetter; and granddaughters, Lily Moen and Campbell Curry Ledbetter, Dauphin Island, Christmas 2005
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#34: Cal Ledbetter's granddaughters, Lily and Gwynneth Moen, 2007
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#35:
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#36: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Cal Ledbetter, Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#37: Behind-the-scenes photo from Pryor Center interview with Cal Ledbetter, Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#38: Still frame from Pyror Center video interview with Cal Ledbetter, Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#39: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Cal Ledbetter, Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
#40: Still frame from Pryor Center video interview with Cal Ledbetter, Little Rock, Arkansas, 2011
© Pryor Center for Arkansas Oral and Visual History, University of Arkansas
