Born on December 20, 1920, in
Atlanta,
Georgia, Clark received a
Bachelor of Science degree from
Washington and Lee University in 1942 and was in the
United States Naval Reserve during
World War II, from 1942 to 1946. He received a
Bachelor of Laws from the
University of Georgia School of Law in 1949, and was in private practice in
Bainbridge, Georgia from 1949 to 1955, in
Americus, Georgia from 1955 to 1957, and in
Tampa,
Florida, from 1957 to 1979. He was also an instructor at
Georgia Southwestern College from 1956 to 1957. ==Federal judicial service==