Samuel James Ervin Jr.

Ervin, Samuel James, Jr. (1896–1985), U.S. senator from North Carolina (1954–74). He served in the U.S. House and on the superior and supreme courts of North Carolina. A constitutional expert, he headed the committee investigating the Watergate affair (1973–74), fighting President Nixon's use of executive privilege to withhold evidence and testimony, and enlivening the hearings with humor and biblical quotations.