Charles Thone (January 4, 1924 – March 7, 2018) was an American Republican politician. He was the 34th Governor of Nebraska, serving from 1979 to 1983. He previously served as a member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

, representing

Nebraska's 1st congressional district Nebraska's 1st congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Nebraska that encompasses most of its eastern quarter, except for Omaha and some of its suburbs, which are part of the 2nd congressional district. It includ ...

, from 1971 to 1979.

Early life

Thone was born in

Hartington, Nebraska Hartington is a city in and the county seat of Cedar County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 1,514 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. History Hartington was platted in 1883, as a water stop on the railroad. It was named ...

. He was one of four sons, including John Jr. He graduated from Hartington High School. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, he served in the

Infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

and in the field artillery and the Army Air Corps of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

as a non-commissioned officer and as an officer.

Political career

While attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Thone served as the pledge president of the

Phi Gamma Delta Phi Gamma Delta (), commonly known as Phi Gam and sometimes written as FIJI, is a North American social fraternity with 139 active chapters and 13 colonies across the United States and Canada. It was founded at Jefferson College, Pennsylvania ...

fraternity. During that time, one of the pledges was a young

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

whom Thone agreed to sponsor because he felt that Carson's humor would be an asset to the fraternity. Following graduation from the

University of Nebraska–Lincoln College of Law The University of Nebraska College of Law is the law school of the University of Nebraska system. It was founded in 1888 and became part of University of Nebraska in 1891. According to Nebraska's official 2017 ABA-required disclosures, 70.3% of th ...

in 1950, he set up private practice in

Lincoln, Nebraska Lincoln is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The city covers and had a population of 291,082 as of the 2020 census. It is the state's List of cities in Nebraska, second-most populous city a ...

. He served as deputy secretary of state of Nebraska from 1951 to 1952. In 1952, he became President of the Nebraska

Junior Chamber of Commerce The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI). ...

. He married Ruth Raymond on August 16, 1953. From 1954 to 1970, he served as Administrative Assistant to U.S. Senator

Roman Hruska Roman Lee Hruska () (August 16, 1904April 25, 1999) was an American attorney and politician who served as a Republican U.S. senator from the state of Nebraska. Hruska was known as one of the most vocal conservatives in the Senate during the 196 ...

. Thone was elected to the

in 1970, representing

from 1971 to 1979. During his tenure in Congress, he served as assistant minority whip, and as a member of the

House Select Committee on Assassinations The United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) was established on September 15, 1976 by U.S. House Resolution 1540 to investigate the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963 and ...

Governorship

In the 1978 election, he was elected the 34th Governor of Nebraska, a post he held until he was narrowly defeated for reelection in the 1982 election by

Bob Kerrey Joseph Robert Kerrey (born August 27, 1943) is an American politician who served as the 35th governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 1989 to 2001. Before entering politics, he served in the Vietn ...

, leaving office in January 1983. He chaired the Old West Economic Development Commission from 1981 to 1982, and the Agricultural Committee of the President's Export Council from 1982 to 1985.

Later career

In the 1992 presidential election, he cast one of the state's five electoral votes for President

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

. In

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

, he did the same for

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American statesman and United States Navy, naval officer who represented the Arizona, state of Arizona in United States Congress, Congress for over 35 years, first as ...

. After retiring from public life, he practiced law in the Lincoln, Nebraska office of Erickson and Sederstrom. Thone died on March 7, 2018, at age 94.

References

External links

Retrieved on 2008-01-24
The Political Graveyard
, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Thone, Charles 1924 births 2018 deaths Republican Party governors of Nebraska Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Nebraska Nebraska lawyers People from Hartington, Nebraska Politicians from Lincoln, Nebraska State political party chairs of Nebraska University of Nebraska College of Law alumni 1992 United States presidential electors 2008 United States presidential electors United States Army personnel of World War II Military personnel from Nebraska United States Army officers United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II United States Army Air Forces officers 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives