William Scranton

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For other people named William Scranton, see William Scranton (disambiguation).
William Scranton
Governor of Pennsylvania
In office
January 15, 1963 – January 17, 1967
LieutenantRaymond P. Shafer
Preceded byDavid Lawrence
Succeeded byRaymond P. Shafer
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 10th district
In office
January 3, 1961 – January 3, 1963
Preceded byStanley Prokop
Succeeded byJoe McDade
Personal details
Born
William Warren Scranton

(1917-07-19)July 19, 1917
Madison, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedJuly 28, 2013(2013-07-28) (aged 96)
Montecito, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1942)​
Children4, including William
RelativesScranton family
EducationYale University (BA, LLB)
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/service United States Army Air Forces
 United States Air Force
Years of service1941–1945
Rank Captain

William Warren Scranton (July 19, 1917 – July 28, 2013) was an American

United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1976 to 1977.[2] "Many who serve as governor today are still measured against Bill Scranton's leadership - some 50 years later," said former state Republican National Committeewoman Elsie Hillman when she learned of Scranton's death in 2013.[3]

Born into the prominent

Pennsylvania Republican Party. He won election to the United States House of Representatives in 1960 and gained a reputation as an outspoken moderate during his time in Congress. He won the Republican nomination in Pennsylvania's 1962 gubernatorial election, defeating Democrat Richardson Dilworth in the general election.[5]

As governor, Scranton presided over sweeping reforms to Pennsylvania's education system, including the creation of the state's

United States Ambassador to the United Nations from 1976 to 1977. He also served on the boards of several high-profile corporations and was associated with the Trilateral Commission and the Council on Foreign Relations
.

Early life

William Scranton was born on July 19, 1917, while the Scranton family was on vacation at a cottage in Madison, Connecticut.[7] He was the son of Worthington Scranton, a wealthy Pennsylvania businessman who was the president of the Scranton Gas and Water Company, and Marion Margery (Warren) Scranton, a member of the Republican National Committee for over two decades.[8][9] Despite her own involvement in politics, his mother tried to dissuade him from entering politics because of his childhood struggles with asthma. She feared that the stress of campaigning would be detrimental to his frail health. She died just before her son's election to Congress in 1960.

Scranton family members,

David Davis, a confidante of President Abraham Lincoln. His maternal ancestors came to America on the Mayflower.[10]

Scranton's father was the son of

Worthington Curtis Smith, who served as a United States Congressman from Vermont. Katherine M. Smith's uncle was J. Gregory Smith, who served as Governor of Vermont. Her cousins included Edward Curtis Smith, who also served as governor. Her grandfather, John Smith, also served as a United States Congressman from Vermont. Scranton's genealogical line runs from John Smith (great-great-grandfather) to Worthington C. Smith (great-grandfather) to Katherine Maria Smith Scranton (paternal grandmother) to Worthington Scranton (father) to Scranton.[11]

William Warren Scranton resided with his parents for many years at Marworth, an estate in Dalton, Pennsylvania, that was located roughly eight miles north of Scranton.[12] Following the death of his parents, he inherited the estate. On October 9, 1976, Scranton and his wife hosted a "Day in the Country" party at Marworth. Among the guests in attendance were U.N. Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim and James Murray, British ambassador to the United Nations.[13] In 1981, ground was broken for a new alcohol and drug rehabilitation center to be operated by the Geisinger Medical Management Corporation on the grounds at Marworth.[14]

Education

Scranton began his education at the Scranton Country Day School, which had been founded by his parents, completing his basic schooling at the

Berzelius Secret Senior Society (pictured with his Berzelius Class of '39 as [16]

Military service

Scranton attended

U.S. Air Force Reserves for two decades thereafter. Following the war, he resumed his studies at Yale Law School. He graduated in 1946 and was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in August of that year.[17]

Early career

Scranton's official congressional photo

Scranton practiced law and then entered the business community after the war becoming successful in several firms in northeastern Pennsylvania. He joined the largest correspondence school in the United States,

International Correspondence Schools in 1949 as its Vice President for legal affairs. He left that post in 1954, but later served on the board of directors, as had his father. He became active in Republican Party politics in the 1950s and came to the attention of President Dwight Eisenhower. In 1959, Eisenhower appointed Scranton as a special assistant to U.S. Secretary of State John Foster Dulles and later Christian Herter. Scranton served a little over a year before resigning to run for Congress.[18]

Scranton's name recognition and family connections helped him win a 17,000 vote victory over

moderate and supported much of President John F. Kennedy
's social agenda including his legislative agenda for the
Civil Rights Movement and the Peace Corps. The media quickly dubbed him a "Kennedy Republican."[19]

1962 gubernatorial election

Main article: 1962 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election

In 1962, the

electoral votes go to Kennedy in the 1960 presidential election, became convinced that a moderate like Scranton, would have enough bipartisan appeal to revitalize the party. He ran for governor against Richardson Dilworth, the mayor of Philadelphia.[20] The ticket added Raymond Shafer, who would succeed him as governor, as his running mate. After one of the most acrimonious campaigns in state history, Scranton and Shafer won a huge victory in the election against their opponents by nearly half a million votes, out of just over 6.6 million cast.[21]

Governor of Pennsylvania

Economic conditions improved for Pennsylvania residents statewide under Scranton's leadership as "unemployment went from 7.5 percent to 3.6 percent," and the "average blue-collar weekly paycheck increased nearly $23 over the four years," according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Restricted by state law to just one term as governor during his time in office, Scranton increased state government spending to a then-record $5.21 billion over his term, compared to $3.78 billion by his predecessor."[22] He also signed into law sweeping reforms in the state's education system, which created the state community college system, the state board of education and the state Higher Education Assistance Agency, and he established a program to promote the state in national and international markets and increase the attractiveness of the state's products and services.[23]

The Chester school protests in Chester, Pennsylvania, in the spring of 1964 led by George Raymond of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and Stanley Branche of the Committee for Freedom Now (CFFN) against the de facto segregation of public schools prompted Scranton to implement the Pennsylvania Human Relations commission. All protests were discontinued while the commission held hearings during the summer of 1964. Scranton also supported the formation of the Greater Chester Movement, an umbrella organization intended to coordinate activities of groups working toward the betterment of Chester [24]

While he was governor, the largest manhunt in the history of Pennsylvania until then took place. On May 11, 1966,

Cambria County
Deputy Sheriff Francis Sharpe. There was a shootout at Rubeck's farm in Burnt Cabins and Hollenbaugh was killed; Peggy Ann Bradnick was rescued without serious injury.

1964 presidential election

Main article: 1964 Republican Party presidential primaries
Scranton supporters ride a San Francisco cable car during the 1964 Republican National Convention

Although Scranton did not actively seek the 1964 Republican nomination for President of the United States in the beginning, a "Draft Scranton" movement quickly gathered momentum among moderate and liberal Republicans who saw him as an alternative to conservative frontrunner, Senator Barry Goldwater, and other Republicans who feared that Goldwater's polarizing views would lead to defeat, after the campaign of Goldwater's liberal opponent, New York governor Nelson Rockefeller, had lost steam. Early in the campaign, he announced that he would be willing to accept the nomination for Vice President. Scranton first declined to enter the race but later threw his hat into the ring on June 12, 1964. Scranton won the support of ten state delegations, but Goldwater went on to win the nomination on the first ballot.[25] Republican National Committee Chairman and US Representative William E. Miller of New York was nominated for Vice President.[26]

Later career

Scranton in 1976.

Under the then-existing Pennsylvania law, Scranton was limited to a single term and could not run for reelection in

Jewish community regarded this as antisemitic
and Nixon quickly distanced himself from the former governor. In accordance with his 1966 pledge never to seek elected office, he rebuffed a draft movement encouraging him to run for the U.S. Senate.

After the

Scranton Report".[28]

Following Nixon's resignation from the Presidency in 1974, he was appointed as a transition team member for incoming President Gerald Ford.[29]

Scranton swearing-in as US Rep to the UN

Scranton reentered the business world and served on the boards of several high-profile American corporations such as

H.J. Heinz Company and was president of Northeastern National Bank and Trust Company. He was also associated with the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign Relations, and was a trustee of Yale University, his alma mater.[30]

In 1976, Scranton was chosen by President Ford to become

Robert Dole of Kansas instead. After his term as UN Ambassador, Scranton retired to his home in Dalton, Pennsylvania.[32]

Scranton's son,

Richard Thornburgh.[33]
He ran unsuccessfully for governor in the 1986 election and was for a while considered a leading candidate for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in the 2006 election but ultimately dropped out of the race.

Scranton was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1997.[34]

Death

Nine days after his 96th birthday, Scranton died on July 28, 2013, from a cerebral hemorrhage at a retirement community in Montecito, California, where he lived with his wife.[35][36] His widow, Mary Scranton, the former First Lady of Pennsylvania, died from Alzheimer's disease on December 26, 2015, at the age of 97.[37]

In popular culture

In Jeff Greenfield's alternate history book If Kennedy Lived, Scranton is featured as Senator Barry Goldwater's running mate in the 1964 presidential election, instead of William E. Miller.

See also

References

  1. ^ McFadden, Robert D. “William W. Scranton, 96, G.O.P. Prodigy Who Led Pennsylvania, Is Dead.” New York, New York: The New York Times, July 29, 2013 (retrieved online, June 3, 2021).
  2. ^ “Governor William Warren Scranton” (biography), in “Governors.” Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, retrieved online, June 3, 2021.
  3. ^ McNulty, Timothy. “Former Pennsylvania governor William Scranton Jr. dies.” Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 30, 2013 (retrieved online, June 3, 2021).
  4. ^ Carocci, Vincent P. Capitol Journey: Reflections on the Press, Politics, and the Making of Public Policy in Pennsylvania, Chapter 13: “William Warren Scranton II (1963-1967).” University Park, Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005.
  5. ^ Baer, John. “An elegant man (and politician) passes: William Warren Scranton was many things rarely seen in politics today.” Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: The Philadelphia Inquirer, July 30, 2013 (retrieved online, June 3, 2021).
  6. ^ White, Theodore H. “Squire Scranton Bides His Time.” New York, New York: Life, February 28, 1964, pp. 63-72 (retrieved online, June 3, 2021).
  7. ^ Perlstein, Rick. Before the Storm: Barry Goldwater and the Unmaking of the American Consensus, p. 275. New York, New York: Hill and Wang, A Division of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2001.
  8. ^ O’Malley III, Michael J. “The Gentleman from Pennsylvania: An Interview with William W. Scranton,” in Pennsylvania Heritage, Winter 2001. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, retrieved online June 3, 2021.
  9. ^ "The Political Graveyard: Scranton family of Scranton, Pennsylvania".
  10. ^ White, Theodore H. “Squire Scranton Bides His Time," Life, February 28, 1964, pp. 63-72.
  11. Scranton Republican
    , December 6, 1916.
  12. ^ “Mrs. Marion Margery Scranton Dies,” The Scranton Tribune, June 24, 1960.
  13. ^ "Fulton, Brian. "Who's who of the United Nations parties at Marworth estate." Scranton, Pennsylvania: The Times-Tribune, October 24, 2018, p. G15.
  14. ^ "Marworth Project" (photo essay). Scranton, Pennsylvania: Scrantonian Tribune, October 25, 1981, p. 113.
  15. ^ “Governor William Warren Scranton” (biography), in “Governors," Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  16. ^ "Yale Library". Retrieved 14 August 2016.
  17. ^ “Governor William Warren Scranton” (biography), in “Governors," Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  18. ^ “Governor William Warren Scranton” (biography), in “Governors," Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  19. ^ “Governor William Warren Scranton” (biography), in “Governors," Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  20. ^ Carocci, Vincent P. Capitol Journey: Reflections on the Press, Politics, and the Making of Public Policy in Pennsylvania, Chapter 13: “William Warren Scranton II (1963-1967)," The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005.
  21. ^ “Governor William Warren Scranton” (biography), in “Governors," Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  22. ^ McNulty, Timothy. “Former Pennsylvania governor William Scranton Jr. dies," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, July 30, 2013.
  23. ^ White, Theodore H. “Squire Scranton Bides His Time," Life, February 28, 1964, pp. 63-72.
  24. ISBN 978-1-4798-6609-0
    . Retrieved 28 October 2018.
  25. ^ Carocci, Vincent P. Capitol Journey: Reflections on the Press, Politics, and the Making of Public Policy in Pennsylvania, Chapter 13: “William Warren Scranton II (1963-1967),” The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005.
  26. ^ “Governor William Warren Scranton” (biography), in “Governors," Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  27. ^ “Governor William Warren Scranton” (biography), in “Governors," Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  28. ^ “Governor William Warren Scranton” (biography), in “Governors," Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  29. ^ “Governor William Warren Scranton” (biography), in “Governors," Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  30. ^ O’Malley III, Michael J. “The Gentleman from Pennsylvania: An Interview with William W. Scranton,” in Pennsylvania Heritage, Winter 2001, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  31. ^ Carocci, Vincent P. Capitol Journey: Reflections on the Press, Politics, and the Making of Public Policy in Pennsylvania, Chapter 13: “William Warren Scranton II (1963-1967),” The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005.
  32. ^ O’Malley III, Michael J. “The Gentleman from Pennsylvania: An Interview with William W. Scranton,” in Pennsylvania Heritage, Winter 2001, Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.
  33. ^ Carocci, Vincent P. Capitol Journey: Reflections on the Press, Politics, and the Making of Public Policy in Pennsylvania, Chapter 13: “William Warren Scranton II (1963-1967),” The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2005.
  34. ^ "APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  35. ^ "FORMER PA. GOVERNOR, PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE DIES". AP. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2013.
  36. ^ Krawczeniuk, Boris. “William Warren Scranton: The reluctant giant.” Scranton, Pennsylvania: The Times-Tribune, July 29, 2013 (retrieved online, June 3, 2021; subscription required).
  37. ^ O'Connell, Jon (2015-12-28). "Former Pennsylvania first lady Mary L. Scranton, 97, dies". The Citizens' Voice. Retrieved 2015-12-30.

External links

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from Pennsylvania's 10th congressional district

1961–1963 		Succeeded by
Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of Pennsylvania
1962 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Pennsylvania
1963–1967 		Succeeded by
Non-profit organization positions
Preceded by President of the National Civic League
1970–1972 		Succeeded by
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by
United States Ambassador to the United Nations

1976–1977 		Succeeded by
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