Cary Dayton Landis (May 10, 1873 – May 10, 1938) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 25th

Florida Attorney General The Florida attorney general is an elected Florida Cabinet, cabinet official in the U.S. state of Florida. The attorney general serves as the chief legal officer of the state, and is head of the Florida Department of Legal Affairs. The office is ...

, serving from 1931 until 1938.

Early life and education

Landis was born in Claypool, Indiana, a small town in rural Kosciusko County, on May 10, 1873. Landis is

Pennsylvania Dutch The Pennsylvania Dutch (), also referred to as Pennsylvania Germans, are an ethnic group in Pennsylvania in the United States, Ontario in Canada, and other regions of both nations. They largely originate from the Palatinate (region), Palatina ...

via his father's side of the family, and was raised

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

. In 1889, Landis began attending nearby North Manchester College, and graduating in 1891. He then began attending Indiana Normal School, now known as

Indiana State University Indiana State University (ISU) is a public university in Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. It was founded in 1865 and offers over 100 undergraduate majors and more than 75 graduate and professional programs. Indiana State is classified ...

, the same year. While attending Indiana Normal School Landis served as the principal of Silver Lake High School in Silver Lake, Indiana, a small town just south of Claypool. After graduating from Indiana Normal School in 1892, Landis moved to

Carroll County, Indiana Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 20,306. The county seat is Delphi. Carroll County is part of the Lafayette, Indiana, Metropolitan Statistical Area. Hist ...

and became the principal of

Carroll High School Carroll High School can refer to: In the United States *Carroll High School (Alabama), Ozark, Alabama *Carroll High School (Flora, Indiana), Flora, Indiana *Carroll High School (Fort Wayne, Indiana), Fort Wayne, Indiana *Carroll High School (Iowa) ...

Flora, Indiana Flora is a town in Monroe Township, Carroll County, Indiana, United States. The population was 2,036 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette, Indiana metropolitan area, Metropolitan Statistic ...

. He remained in this position until 1894, when he was appointed the Superintendent of the Carroll Consolidated School Corporation, at the time based out of nearby

Burlington, Indiana Burlington is a town in Burlington Township, Carroll County, Indiana, United States. The population was 603 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area. State Road 22 connects it to Kokomo. History ...

. Landis left this position in 1896 in order to pursue legal studies at the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

. Landis graduated with his

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1899, and was admitted into the Indiana Bar the same year. He later created a law partnership in

Huntington, Indiana Huntington, known as the "Lime City", is the largest city in and the county seat of Huntington County, Indiana, Huntington County, Indiana, United States. It is in Huntington Township, Huntington County, Indiana, Huntington and Union Township, H ...

with Fred H. Bowers, a friend and fellow Indianan from the University of Michigan. In 1901, Landis became a professor at the newly established

College of Law A college (Latin: ''collegium'') may be a tertiary educational institution (sometimes awarding degrees), part of a collegiate university, an institution offering vocational education, a further education institution, or a secondary school ...

Stetson University Stetson University is a private university in DeLand, Florida, United States. Established in 1883 as DeLand Academy, it was later renamed John B. Stetson University in honor of John B. Stetson. The university's main campus in DeLand spans 175 ...

DeLand, Florida DeLand is a city in and the county seat of Volusia County, Florida, United States. The city sits approximately north of the central business district of Orlando, and approximately west of the central business district of Daytona Beach. It is ...

. The following year, Landis began a law partnership with

Bert Fish Bert Fish (October 8, 1875July 21, 1943) was an American lawyer, judge, philanthropist, and ambassador. Early life Fish originally hailed from Bedford, Indiana, but moved to Volusia County, Florida in 1881. He became the Superintendent of the V ...

, who would later become the

U.S. Ambassador to Egypt This is a list of ambassadors (or other diplomatic representatives) of the United States to Egypt. The United States first established diplomatic relations with Egypt in 1848, when President James K. Polk appointed Daniel Smith McCauley as the ...

and later the first U.S. Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Landis stopped teaching in 1905, though he continued his law practice with Fish.

Political career

In 1911, Landis, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

, was elected the

State Attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

for the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, winning a majority in every county in the district. He did not seek reelection in 1913, opting to instead return to private practice. On March 9, 1931, Landis was appointed Florida Attorney General by Governor Doyle E. Carlton, in order to complete the term of

Fred Henry Davis Fred Henry Davis (May 18, 1894 – June 20, 1937) was an American attorney and politician from the state of Florida, serving as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Florida from 1933 until 1935. Early life and military service Davis was born ...

, who had been appointed to the

Supreme Court of Florida The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

. Landis was elected to a full term in 1932, having run unopposed. As the Florida Attorney General, Landis imposed weight limits on trucks in order to preserve the surface of the roads, enforced via a dozen weight inspectors. This force of inspectors would later evolve into the

Florida Highway Patrol The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) is a division of the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. It is Florida's highway patrol, highway State Police (United States), patrol and is the primary law enforcement agency charged with in ...

. Landis also argued several tax-related cases before the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

, most notably ''McNee v. Wall'' (1933), ''Lee v. Bickell'' (1934), and '' Atlantic Coast Railroad v. State of Florida'' (1935).

Death and legacy

Landis died in office on his 65th birthday, May 10, 1938, after a two-week illness. His remains were sent back to Carroll County, and he is buried in Ball Hill Cemetery in

Cutler, Indiana Cutler is an unincorporated area, unincorporated community in Democrat Township, Carroll County, Indiana, Democrat Township, Carroll County, Indiana, Carroll County, Indiana, United States. It is part of the Lafayette, Indiana Lafayette, Indiana m ...

. In 1939,

Florida State University Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

renamed Seniors Hall to Landis Hall in his honor. Landis Hall now serves as a freshman dormitory for the Florida State University Honors Program. The university's central common was also renamed the Landis Green. In 2016,

Donald Lehe Donald Lehe was a Republican member of the Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is compose ...

and Heath VanNatter, both members of the

Indiana House of Representatives The Indiana House of Representatives is the lower house of the Indiana General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Indiana. The House is composed of 100 members representing an equal number of constituent districts. House mem ...

, created a resolution urging the

Indiana Department of Transportation The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of Indiana charged with maintaining and regulating transportation and transportation related infrastructure such as state owned airports, List of number ...

to rename part of

Indiana State Road 75 State Road 75, the highest two-digit route in the U.S. state of Indiana, consists of two discontinuous north–south segments. Route description Southern section The southern section is about long. It begins at U.S. Route 40 at the ...

to the Cary D. Landis Memorial Mile. The resolution faded into obscurity and the road was not renamed.

Personal life

Landis married Margaret Weaver, a native of Carroll County, in 1895. They had three children together, sons Erskine Weaver and William David and daughter Guinevere Elizabeth. Guinevere died in 1928 and William, who was

mentally disabled Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

, died in 1934. Landis was a member of the

Freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic body, Masonic society. Founded in 1872 in New York City, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida, and has over ...

Elks The Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset (ELKS), formerly known as Linux-8086, is a Linux-like operating system kernel. It is a subset of the Linux kernel, intended for 16-bit computers with limited processor and memory resources such as machines pow ...

, and

Kiwanis Kiwanis International ( ) is an international service club founded in 1915 in Detroit, Michigan. It is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, and is found in more than 80 nations and geographic areas. In 1987, the organization ...

References

External links

Find a Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Landis, Cary 1873 births 1938 deaths Florida attorneys general People from Kosciusko County, Indiana American people of Pennsylvania Dutch descent Manchester University (Indiana) alumni Indiana State University alumni American educators American school principals People from Carroll County, Indiana School superintendents in Indiana University of Michigan Law School alumni University of Michigan alumni Stetson University College of Law faculty Stetson University faculty State attorneys in Florida Politicians from DeLand, Florida American Freemasons