Goodwin Knight
Goodwin Knight | |
---|---|
31st Governor of California | |
In office October 5, 1953 – January 5, 1959 | |
Lieutenant | Harold J. Powers |
Preceded by | Earl Warren |
Succeeded by | Pat Brown |
35th Lieutenant Governor of California | |
In office January 7, 1947 – October 5, 1953 | |
Governor | Earl Warren |
Preceded by | Frederick F. Houser |
Succeeded by | Harold J. Powers |
Personal details | |
Born | Goodwin Jess Knight December 9, 1896 Provo, Utah, U.S. |
Died | May 22, 1970 Inglewood, California, U.S. | (aged 73)
Political party | Republican |
Spouses | Arvilla Cooley
(m. 1925; died 1952)Virginia Carlson (m. 1954) |
Children | 2 |
Alma mater | Stanford University |
Profession | Judge |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Branch/service | United States Navy |
Years of service | 1918–1919 |
Rank | Seaman |
Battles/wars | World War I |
Goodwin Jess "Goodie" Knight (December 9, 1896 – May 22, 1970) was an American politician and judge who served as the
Knight was born in Utah and moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was a child. He followed a career in law and politics, becoming a Superior Court judge before moving into politics. He was elected lieutenant governor of California in 1946, serving under Governor Earl Warren. Upon Warren's appointment as Chief Justice of the United States by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Knight assumed the governorship before being elected in his own right in 1954.[1] His tenure as governor was marked by conflicts within his party. He chose not to run for a second term as governor in 1958 and made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate. He attempted to make a return to the governorship in 1962, but withdrew from the race.
Knight was married twice and had two daughters. He died in 1970, shortly after the suicide of his daughter. His funeral was attended by high-profile individuals including then-California Governor Ronald Reagan and U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater.
Biography
Early years
Knight was born in
Knight attended
Career
Knight was a
Political career and Governor of California
Knight began his political career in 1944, when he pursued the
While Lieutenant Governor, he made a guest appearance on
As governor, Knight fought for control of the
Knight was present at the July 17, 1955, opening of Disneyland, and gave a speech following Walt Disney's famous dedication.
In September 1961, Knight announced a bid for a return to the governorship. He later dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination which was won by Nixon, who was in turn defeated by Brown.[3]
In 1964, Knight endorsed Nelson Rockefeller for the Republican nomination against Barry Goldwater. Rockefeller was unsuccessful in stopping Goldwater, the darling of the party's growing conservative wing. Knight never ran for political office again.
Personal life
Knight's first wife, Arvilla, died of a heart attack on October 29, 1952; the couple had two daughters. He married Virginia Carlson (born Virginia Piergue on October 12, 1918, in Fort Dodge, Iowa), the widow of an Army lieutenant, on August 2, 1954, at the Episcopal Church of Our Savior in Los Angeles.[4] The couple had no children.
Death
On May 22, 1970, Knight died three months after his 36-year-old daughter Carolyn Knight Weedman committed suicide. She took her life by carbon monoxide asphyxiation from her car in the garage of her home in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles and left behind two sons, Jonathan and Robert Weedman. Knight discovered his daughter a day later, and this is believed to have contributed to the stroke that ultimately ended his life. His widow, Virginia, never remarried; she died at age 92 on November 29, 2010.[5]
Goodwin Knight's funeral took place in Saint James Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, with full military honors. The funeral was attended by then California Governor Ronald Reagan, U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater from Arizona, accompanied by his son, U.S. Representative Barry Goldwater Jr. from California, General of the Army Omar Bradley and numerous Hollywood and civic leaders. Knight was initially interred at Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, but one year later disinterred and his remains moved to Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California after his second wife, Virginia Knight, learned he had purchased a crypt next to his first wife, Arvilla.
See also
References
- ^ Staff writers (1 June 1970). "Milestones". Time. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- ^ Imdb.com – The Jack Benny Program (TV Series): "Goodwin Knight/George Jessel Show" (1957).
- ^ "Goodwin J. Knight of California Dies". The New York Times. 23 May 1970. p. 22.
- ^ Knight, Virginia; Stein, Mimi Feingold; Sharp, Sarah (1987). California's First Lady, 1954–1958. Berkeley: Regents of the University of California.
- ^ Valerie J. Nelson (December 1, 2010). "Virginia Knight dies at 92; former first lady of California". The Los Angeles Times. p. AA7. Retrieved 5 December 2011.