About Mark White (Texas politician)
Mark Wells White Jr. (March 17, 1940 – August 5, 2017) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the 43rd governor of Texas from 1983 to 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the 74th secretary of state of Texas from 1973 to 1977 and as the 46th attorney general of Texas from 1979 to 1983. White was elected governor in the 1982 gubernatorial election, defeating the incumbent Bill Clements. As governor, White sought to improve education, transportation, water resources, law enforcement, and taxes to attract new industry to Texas. He appointed the first Hispanic woman to serve as a judge of a district court in Texas, Elma Salinas Ender. In the 1986 gubernatorial election, White lost to former Republican governor Clements, 52.7% to 46.0%. Among White's appointments was Elma Salinas Ender as the first Hispanic woman to serve as judge of a district court in Texas. White also appointed Myra McDaniel as the first African American to serve as general counsel to the governor in 1983 and later appointed her as Texas Secretary of State in 1984.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.