Frank O. Lowden
Frank Orren Lowden | |
---|---|
25th Governor of Illinois | |
In office January 8, 1917 – January 10, 1921 | |
Lieutenant | John G. Oglesby |
Preceded by | Edward Dunne |
Succeeded by | Len Small |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 13th district | |
In office November 6, 1906 – March 3, 1911 | |
Preceded by | Robert R. Hitt |
Succeeded by | John C. McKenzie |
Personal details | |
Born | Frank Orren Lowden January 26, 1861 Sunrise, Minnesota, U.S. |
Died | March 20, 1943 Tucson, Arizona, U.S. | (aged 82)
Resting place | Graceland Cemetery |
Political party | Republican |
Spouse | Florence Pullman (1896–1937) |
Children | 3 |
Education | University of Iowa (BA) Northwestern University (LLB) |
Signature | |
[1][2][3] | |
Frank Orren Lowden (January 26, 1861 – March 20, 1943) was an American Republican Party politician who served as the 25th Governor of Illinois and as a United States Representative from Illinois. He was also a candidate for the Republican presidential nominations in 1920 and 1928.
Born in Sunrise Township, Minnesota, Lowden practiced law in Chicago after graduating from the University of Iowa. He emerged as a local Republican leader and served in the House of Representatives from 1906 to 1911. He served as Governor of Illinois from 1917 to 1921, earning wide notice for his reorganization of state government and his handling of the Chicago race riot of 1919.
At the 1920 Republican National Convention, Lowden was the preferred candidate of many of the party's conservatives. His supporters coalesced behind Warren G. Harding as a compromise candidate, and Harding won both the nomination and the 1920 presidential election. Lowden was nominated for vice president at the 1924 Republican National Convention, but he declined the nomination. Lowden was a candidate for president at the 1928 Republican National Convention, but Herbert Hoover won the nomination on the first ballot.
Early life
Lowden was born in
Political career
Early political career
In 1900, Lowden declined the first assistant postmaster-generalship, offered him by President McKinley, whom he had supported. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1900 and 1904, and from 1904 to 1912 was a member of the Republican National Committee. He was also a member of the executive committee in 1904 and 1908.
Lowden was elected a U.S. Representative from Illinois in 1906 to fill the unexpired term of Robert R. Hitt, deceased. He was re-elected for succeeding terms until 1911, when he declined to run for another term.[5]
Governor of Illinois (1917-1921)
From 1917 to 1921, he was the Governor of Illinois. While governor, he won wide notice for the major reorganization of state government he spearheaded. He introduced the budget system for state expenditure, thereby reducing the rate of taxation in spite of rising prices.[5]
He was a strong supporter of the death penalty, and when in 1918 both houses of the Illinois General Assembly voted to abolish capital punishment, he vetoed the bill. He was energetic in marshalling the resources of his state in support of the United States' World War I effort.
In 1917, when the
1920 presidential election and aftermath
He was a leading candidate for the Republican nomination for president in 1920. His campaign was embarrassed by reports of profligate spending. His Missouri campaign manager gave out $32,000 to promote his campaign, including $2,500 (a laborer's annual wage) to at least two convention delegates.[7]
Delegates at the Republican convention deadlocked over several ballots between Lowden and General Leonard Wood, resulting in party leaders meeting privately to determine a compromise candidate. Their choice, Warren G. Harding, went on to win the nomination.
In the 1924 election, he declined the Republican nomination for vice president. In 1928, he again positioned himself to run for the party's nomination, but he was never much more than a minor threat to front runner Herbert Hoover, who went on to win the presidential nomination and the election.
Railroad career
In 1933, Lowden was appointed to be one of three receivers for the
Legacy
The following are named after Lowden: Camp Lowden Boy Scout Camp, Lowden State Park and Lowden-Miller State Forest, all near his estate outside Oregon, Illinois; the Frank O. Lowden Homes in Chicago; and two Lowden Halls, located on the campus of the Northwestern University School of Law in Chicago and Northern Illinois University in DeKalb.
Notes
- ^ a b "Guide to the Frank O. Lowden Papers circa 1870-1943". University of Chicago Library. 2011. Retrieved December 24, 2013.
- Northern Illinois University Libraries. pp. 60–61. Archived from the originalon April 2, 2015. Retrieved December 25, 2013.
- ^ "Frank O. Lowden and Miss Florence Pullman" (PDF). The New York Times. March 21, 1896. Retrieved November 22, 2021.
- ^ History/Museums Archived April 1, 2008, at the Wayback Machine at sunrisetownship.com
- ^ a b c d e Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1922). Encyclopædia Britannica (12th ed.). London & New York: The Encyclopædia Britannica Company. .
- LCCN 2012032098.
- LCCN 2012032098.
Bibliography
- LCCN 57006274.