Charles Brantley Aycock - Later Life and Legacy

Later Life and Legacy

After leaving the governor's office in 1905, Aycock resumed his law practice. He was persuaded to run for the Senate seat held by fellow Democrat Furnifold M. Simmons in 1912. But before the nomination was decided, Aycock died of a heart attack while making a speech to the Alabama Education Association in Birmingham on April 4, 1912.

"The subject of Aycock's speech was 'Universal Education'. After he had talked for a few minutes, amidst enthusiastic applause, Aycock spoke the words: 'I have always talked about education -.' Here he stopped, threw up his hands, reeled backward, and fell dead."

In Greensboro, North Carolina, the auditorium at UNC Greensboro, as well as a street, a neighborhood, and a middle school are all named for him. There are dormitories at UNC-Chapel Hill, East Carolina University and Duke University campuses named after him. In Pikeville, North Carolina, there is a high school named after him as well.

A bronze statue of Aycock by Charles Keck was submitted by the North Carolina Legislature to the National Statuary Hall Collection in 1932. The statue is located in the crypt of the capitol building along with other statues from the original 13 colonies.