Harry Roe Hughes (November 13, 1926 – March 13, 2019) was an American politician from the Democratic Party who served as the 57th Governor of Maryland from 1979 to 1987.

Early life and family

Hughes was born in

Easton, Maryland Easton is an incorporated town in and the county seat of Talbot County, Maryland, United States. The population was 15,945 at the 2010 census, with an estimated population in 2019 of 16,671. The primary ZIP Code is 21601, and the secondary ...

, the son of Helen (Roe) and Jonathan Longfellow Hughes. Hughes attended

Caroline County, Maryland Caroline County is a rural county located in the U.S. state of Maryland on its Eastern Shore. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,293. Its county seat is Denton. Caroline County is bordered by Queen Anne's County to the north, ...

, public schools before attending the

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent selective college-preparatory boarding & day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approx ...

Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Mercersburg is a borough in Franklin County, located near the southern border of Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is southwest of Harrisburg, the state capital. Due to its location in a rural area, it had a relatively large percenta ...

. After school, Hughes served in the U.S. Naval Air Corps during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. After the War, Hughes continued his education by attending

Mount Saint Mary's University Mount St. Mary's University (The Mount) is a private Roman Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland. It includes the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. The undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Liberal Arts, ...

and the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of ...

, from which he graduated in 1949. At Maryland he was a member of the Alpha Psi chapter of the Theta Chi social fraternity. He received his law degree from

The George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest top law school in the national capital. GW Law offers the largest range of cour ...

in 1952 and was admitted to the Maryland

Bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar ( ...

the same year. Hughes married his wife, Patricia Donoho Hughes, on June 30, 1951. They have two daughters, Ann and Elizabeth. Patricia Hughes died on January 20, 2010, in Denton at the age of 79. Prior to his election as governor, Hughes was an attorney and one-time professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player in the Eastern Shore League. From 1966 to 1970, Hughes was the chairman of Maryland Democratic State Central Committee.

Political career

Hughes began his political career as a member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

from 1955 to 1959, representing Caroline County. He was elected a member of the

Maryland Senate The Maryland Senate, sometimes referred to as the Maryland State Senate, is the upper house of the General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. Composed of 47 senators elected from an equal number of constituent single-m ...

in 1958 and served until 1970 for district 15, representing Caroline, Cecil,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, Queen Anne's, and Talbot counties. In 1971, Hughes was offered and accepted the position of

Secretary of Transportation A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a wh ...

for the state. In May 1977, however, Hughes resigned from his position because of a disagreement in the State Department of Transportation regarding the award of a construction contract for a subway in

Baltimore City Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic, and the 30th most populous city in the United States with a population of 585,708 in 2020. Baltimore was ...

. Hughes was elected governor in 1978 after defeating Lieutenant Governor Blair Lee III in the Democratic primary election, and Republican John Glenn Beall, Jr. in the general election. Among other things, Hughes was a strong advocate for the

Chesapeake Bay The Chesapeake Bay ( ) is the largest estuary in the United States. The Bay is located in the Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula (including the parts: the Eastern Shore of Maryland / ...

. He signed into law such legislation as that approving the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, which set into motion efforts to restore the Bay and recover from excessive fishing. Also during his administration, Maryland initiated foreign trade with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

. The Savings and Loan crisis, involving the failure of many savings and loan organizations across the United States, hit Maryland near the end of Hughes' tenure with the

run Run(s) or RUN may refer to: Places * Run (island), one of the Banda Islands in Indonesia * Run (stream), a stream in the Dutch province of North Brabant People * Run (rapper), Joseph Simmons, now known as "Reverend Run", from the hip-hop group ...

Old Court Savings and Loans Old Court Savings and Loan (Old Court Thrift Savings) was a savings and loan association headquartered in Pikesville, Maryland, United States, that failed due to embezzlement by its president Jeffrey Levitt, which led to the failure of the state de ...

, but nevertheless steps were taken to insure Maryland savings and loans organizations. Hughes served two terms, defeating Republican challenger Robert A. Pascal in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C ...

, and concluded his governorship in 1987. In 1986, Hughes and Congressman

Michael D. Barnes Michael Darr Barnes (born September 3, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician who represented the eighth district of Maryland in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1987. Early life Born in Washington, D.C. to John P. Ba ...

both unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and po ...

seat being vacated by Charles "Mac" Mathias. They lost to

Barbara Mikulski Barbara Ann Mikulski ( ; born July 20, 1936) is an American politician and social worker who served as a United States senator from Maryland from 1987 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, she also served in the United States House of Repr ...

, who went on to win the general election.

Later career

Hughes was a member of the Chesapeake Bay Trust from 1995 to 2003; a member of the Board of Regents of the

University System of Maryland The University System of Maryland (USM) is a public higher education system in the United States, U.S. state of Maryland. The system is composed of the eleven campuses at College Park, Maryland, College Park, Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimor ...

from 1996 to 2000; the chairman of the Blue Ribbon Citizens Pfiesteria Commission in 1997; the chairman of the Maryland Appellate Judicial Nominating Commission from 1999 to 2003; and a member of the committee to Establish the Maryland Survivors Scholarship Fund from 2001 to 2002. Hughes was a member of the Advisory Committee for the Eastern Shore Land Conservancy's board of directors. Hughes published an autobiography in 2006. After a series of illnesses, including pneumonia, Hughes died under hospice care at his home in Denton on March 13, 2019, aged 92.

References

External links

* , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Harry Roe 1926 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians American Episcopalians American autobiographers Deaths from pneumonia in Maryland Democratic Party governors of Maryland Democratic Party Maryland state senators Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates George Washington University Law School alumni Maryland lawyers Mercersburg Academy alumni Military personnel from Maryland People from Denton, Maryland People from Easton, Maryland State cabinet secretaries of Maryland United States Navy personnel of World War II University of Maryland, College Park alumni Writers from Maryland

Early life and family

Political career

Later career

See also

References

External links