{{Short description|American lawyer and politician (1944–2016)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Redding Pitt | image = Redding Pitt (obit).jpeg | office = Chair of the Alabama Democratic Party | term_start = 2001 | term_end = 2005 | predecessor = John C. H. Miller Jr. | successor = Joe Turnham | office1 = United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama | term_start1 = 1994 | term_end1 = 2001 | president1 = Bill Clinton | predecessor1 = James E. Wilson | successor1 = Leura G. Canary | birth_name = Charles Redding Pitt | birth_date = {{Birth date|1944|03|29}} | death_date = {{Death date and age|2016|02|07|1944|03|29}} | death_place = Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | birth_place = Decatur, Alabama, U.S. | party = Democratic | spouse = Jane H. Pitt (divorced) | children = 1 | education = University of Alabama (BA)<br>Boston College (JD) | branch = United States Army | rank = Captain | service_years = 1969–1972 | mawards = Bronze Star | battles = Vietnam War }}
'''Charles Redding Pitt''' (March 29, 1944 – February 7, 2016) was an American lawyer and former chairman of the Alabama Democratic Party.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=FT&Date=20021119&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=211190333&Ref=AR&Profile=1011|archive-url=https://archive.today/20110717060334/http://www.timesdaily.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Site=FT&Date=20021119&Category=NEWS&ArtNo=211190333&Ref=AR&Profile=1011|url-status=dead|archive-date=17 July 2011|title=Siegelman concedes|last=Beyerle|first=Dana|date=19 November 2002|work=TimesDaily|access-date=15 March 2011}}</ref>
==Biography== ===Early life, education, and military service=== 150px|thumb|left|Pitt in 1962. Pitt was born in Decatur, Alabama and graduated from Decatur High School in 1962.<ref name="obit1" /> He attended the University of Alabama and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1967.<ref name="obit1" /> He was active in campaigning for Robert F. Kennedy in the 1968 presidential election.<ref name="obit1" />
After graduating from college Pitt entered the officer corps of the United States Army, serving from 1969 to 1972 in Vietnam, where he attained the rank of captain and earned a Bronze Star.<ref name="obit1" /> Later he served in the Office of the Chief of Staff for Intelligence in Washington, D.C.<ref name="obit1" />
Following his Army service, Pitt attended Boston College Law School and received his Juris Doctor in 1977, after which he returned to his home state and began his public career.<ref name="obit1" />
===Political and legal career=== Pitt served as Alabama's Assistant Attorney General from 1981 to 1991, and Chief Deputy Attorney General from 1991 to 1994.<ref name="obit1" /> He also served as a legal advisor to several Alabama state government officials.<ref name="obit1" /> From 1994 to 2001 he served as United States Attorney for the Middle District of Alabama.<ref name="(U.S.)2007">{{cite book|last=(U.S.)|first=House|title=Implementing Recommendations of the 9/11 Commission Act of 2007: Conference Report to Accompany H.R. 1, July 25, 2007|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zNCyeOl0y7AC&pg=RA6-PA42|access-date=15 March 2011|date=August 2007|publisher=Government Printing Office|isbn=978-0-16-079068-3|page=42}}</ref><ref name="obit1">[https://obits.al.com/obituaries/birmingham/obituary.aspx?n=charles-redding-pitt&pid=177699208&fhid=5786 Charles Redding Pitt, 1944 - 2016]</ref>
Later in his life, Pitt practiced law in Birmingham, Alabama. He was one of the attorneys of record for former Alabama Governor Don Siegelman during Siegelman's federal trial in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama on charges of bribery, mail fraud, and obstruction of justice.<ref name="obit2">[https://www.alreporter.com/2016/02/09/redding-pitt-mourned-by-alabama-democrats/ Redding Pitt Mourned by Alabama Democrats]</ref> He also continued to serve campaigns for Democratic candidates, including his Boston College classmate John Kerry in 2004.<ref name="obit2" /> From 2001 to 2005 he served as chair of the Alabama Democratic Party.<ref name="obit2" />
===Personal life and death=== Pitt had one son, William Rivers Pitt, by his first wife, Jane H. Pitt. He was related to the 18th-century British Prime Minister William Pitt. He died on February 7, 2016, at the age of 71.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moultonadvertiser.com/news/state/article_fa80fcfa-99ab-5ed5-931e-e0916537a7eb.html |title=Former Alabama Democratic chair Redding Pitt dies - The Moulton Advertiser : State News |publisher=The Moulton Advertiser |access-date=2016-02-11 }}{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>[https://www.al.com/news/2016/02/redding_pitt_former_head_of_al.html Redding Pitt, former head of Alabama Democratic Party, has died]</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{Portal|Biography}} *{{cite news |last=Former United States Attorneys |first=National Association of |date=February 9, 2016 |title=Redding Pitt Dies |url=http://nafusa.org/2016/02/redding-pitt-dies/ |work=NAFUSA |access-date=November 3, 2020}} *{{cite news |last=Lyman |first=Brian |date=February 8, 2016 |title=Former Alabama Democratic chair Redding Pitt dies |url=https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/news/local/alabama/2016/02/08/former-alabama-democratic-chair-redding-pitt-dies/80019326/ |work=Montgomery Advertiser |location=Montgomery, Alabama |access-date=November 3, 2020}} *{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |date=February 9, 2016 |title=Former Alabama Democratic chair Redding Pitt dies |url=https://www.jacksonville.com/celebrity-deaths-2016/2016-02-09/story/former-alabama-democratic-chair-redding-pitt-dies |work=The Florida Times-Union |location=Jacksonville, Florida |access-date=November 3, 2020}} *{{cite news |agency=Associated Press |date=February 8, 2016 |title=Redding Pitt, former head of Alabama Democratic Party, has died |url=https://www.al.com/news/2016/02/redding_pitt_former_head_of_al.html |work=Alabama Media Group |location=Birmingham, Alabama |access-date=November 3, 2020}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitt, Charles Redding}} Category:1944 births Category:2016 deaths Category:Alabama lawyers Category:Boston College Law School alumni Category:Lawyers from Birmingham, Alabama Category:Politicians from Decatur, Alabama Category:Military personnel from Alabama Category:20th-century American lawyers Category:21st-century American lawyers Category:20th-century American politicians Category:21st-century American politicians Category:Alabama Democratic Party chairs Category:University of Alabama alumni Category:United States attorneys for the Middle District of Alabama Category:United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Category:United States Army officers