Douglas Selph Henry Jr. (May 18, 1926 – March 5, 2017) was an American attorney and Democratic politician. He was the longest-serving member of the Tennessee legislature. He was a member of the Tennessee Senate, representing the 21st district (part of Davidson County). He served as a state senator beginning with his election to the 87th General Assembly, prior to which he was a member of the Tennessee House of Representatives during the 79th General Assembly. Early life Henry was born on May 14, 1926 in Nashville, Tennessee to Kathryn Craig Henry and Douglas Selph Henry, Sr. He grew up in Belle Meade, Tennessee, where he was raised as a Presbyterian. His grandfather, Cornelius Abernathy (C.A.) Craig. was the founder of the National Life and Accident Insurance Co., and his father, Douglas Selph Henry Sr., served in the Tennessee Senate. Robert Selph Henry, his uncle, was an attorney and a historian who authored history books, such as The Story of the Confederacy (1931) and The Story of Reconstruction (1938). Henry was educated at The Parmer School, Wallace School, and The McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and graduated from the Montgomery Bell Academy in 1941. Henry served as a member of the United States Army in the Philippines for over two years during World War II. He received the Philippine Independence Medal. Henry graduated with a BA in French, Greek, and Latin from College of Arts and Science at Vanderbilt University. He subsequently earned an LL.B from the Vanderbilt Law School. Career Henry began his career a practising attorney and legal counsel to the family business, the National Life and Accident Insurance Co. Henry made an initial and unsuccessful bid for election into the Tennessee House of Representatives during 1952. Henry was first elected into the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1954. Henry was absent from politics during the 1960s, working as a corporate attorney for National Life Insurance Company. Returning to the political arena in 1970, Henry was elected 11 consecutive times to the Tennessee State Senate, most recently narrowly defeating challenger Jeff Yarbro in the 2010 primary by just 17 votes. In the 1970s, Henry smoked marijuana outside the state of Tennessee to experience it before he could vote on a decriminalization bill in the senate. Henry was opposed to legal abortion in all cases, even if the female had been raped. Henry stated that he legislatively supported "education,