Austin Lane Crothers

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Austin L. Crothers
46th Governor of Maryland
In office
January 8, 1908 – January 10, 1912
Preceded byEdwin Warfield
Succeeded byPhillips L. Goldsborough
Member of the Maryland Senate
In office
1900–1902
Preceded byCharles C. Crothers
Succeeded byHenry M. McCullough
Member of the Maryland House of Delegates
In office
1897–1900
Personal details
Born(1860-05-17)May 17, 1860
Conowingo, Maryland, U.S.
DiedMay 25, 1912(1912-05-25) (aged 52)
Elkton, Maryland, U.S.
Resting placeWest Nottingham Cemetery
Political partyDemocratic
RelationsCharles C. Crothers (brother)
Omar D. Crothers (nephew)
Omar D. Crothers Jr. (grand nephew)

Austin Lane Crothers (May 17, 1860 – May 25, 1912), was an American politician and a member of the

United States Democratic Party, was the 46th Governor of Maryland
in the United States from 1908 to 1912.

Early life and career

Crothers was born on May 17, 1860, near

State's Attorney for Cecil County, a post he held from 1891 to 1895.[1][2]

In 1897, Austin Crothers was elected to the

Republican Henry M. McCullough. Crothers continued to act as party leader in Cecil County, but still failed another re-election attempt in 1905.[2]

In 1906, Governor Edwin Warfield appointed Crothers to succeed the late Judge Edwin H. Brown as an associate judge for the Second Judicial Circuit, which included Cecil County. However, he refused to run for a second term, and instead ran for governor in 1907. Despite being a relative unknown, Crothers was elected into office.[2]

Governor of Maryland

Crothers' tenure as governor was notable for its reform aspects. He created the

U.S. Senators (though that actually passed into law after his term). Crothers also pushed for the creation of the Public Service Commission and the State Bank Commissioner. He supported pure food laws, better care for the mentally ill, and increased taxes for collateral inheritance and automobile licenses.[2]

He tried to reform the

Maryland Court of Appeals determined that the governor did not have such power, neither to remove them or replace them before their time in court. Crothers still tried to bring the charges against them, but nothing came of it.[2]

Crothers also supported the 1910

disenfranchise African Americans. He also barely refrained (following a public outcry) from supporting a bill which would have effectively passed the bill's requirements into law even before the people ratified it. The Amendment was rejected by the people of Maryland.[2]

Crothers's actions led to some problems with Maryland's other politicians, including members of his own party, near the end of his time as governor. Crothers was sick when he left office in 1912, and eventually died at the home of his nephew, Omar D. Crothers, in Elkton on May 25 of that year. He was buried at West Nottingham Cemetery.[1][2][3]

References

  1. ^ a b "Austin L. Crothers (1860-1912) Biographical Series; Governor of Maryland, 1908-1912 (Democrat)". Archives of Maryland, MSA SC 3520-1477. Maryland State Government. November 13, 2002. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  2. ^
    ISBN 978-0942370010
    . Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  3. ^ "The Death of Ex-Governor Crothers". The Democratic Advocate. May 31, 1912. p. 4. Retrieved June 9, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.Open access icon

External links

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Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of Maryland
1907 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Maryland
1908–1912 		Succeeded by
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