By Alabama Public Radio
Huntsville, AL – The attorney credited with the establishment of the University of Alabama in Huntsville in the 1940s died Sunday. Patrick Richardson was 79. Richardson was in law school at the University of Alabama in 1946. That's when he started lobbying University officials to open a satellite campus in Huntsville. Huntsville, at that time, was still a town mainly comprised of textile mills. Former UA President John Gallalee okayed the new campus 55 years ago Tuesday...on November 16, 1949. Richardson was then named to the faculty of the new school, teaching economics, marketing and business law. The first 137 students were mostly veterans taking advantage of the GI Bill. They paid $2 tuition, plus $4 per credit hour. UAH's enrollment is now close to 7,000. Richardson is survived by his wife and two sons. His funeral is set for Wednesday morning.