Edward Wallis Hoch (March 17, 1849 – June 1, 1925) was an American newspaper editor, politician and the 17th Governor of Kansas. Hoch Auditoria at the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

was named after him.

Biography

Hoch was born in

Danville, Kentucky Danville is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city and the county seat of Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micr ...

. His education was in the public schools and he attended Central University in Danville. He left college before graduating, entered a newspaper office and spent three years learning to be a printer. Hoch moved to

Marion, Kansas Marion is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Kansas, Marion County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,922. The city was named in honor of Francis Marion, a b ...

, in 1871, and homesteaded 160 acres of land. He bought the ''

Marion County Record The ''Marion County Record'' is a weekly newspaper published in Marion, Kansas, United States, and the newspaper of record for the city and Marion County. It publishes Wednesdays. Its offices are across the street from the Marion County Courth ...

'' newspaper in 1874 and became a country editor. He married Sarah Louise Dickerson on May 23, 1876, and they had four children, two sons and two daughters.

Career

Hoch was elected and served two terms in the

Kansas House of Representatives The Kansas House of Representatives is the lower house of the legislature of the U.S. state of Kansas. Composed of 125 state representatives from districts with roughly equal populations of at least 19,000, its members are responsible for craftin ...

(1889–91 and 1893–95). With the support of Kansas like

Charles Curtis Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) was the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under President Herbert Hoover. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 1924 to 1929. An enrolled member of the Kaw Natio ...

, M.A. Low, and J.S. Dean, he was elected governor in 1904 and reelected in 1906. During his tenure, new laws enacted included a child labor law, a pure food law, a bank guaranty law, a party primary law, a maximum freight rate bill; and improvements were sanctioned in the juvenile courts and state institutions. After leaving office, Hoch lectured on the

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Cha ...

circuit, becoming a well-known orator. He served on the Kansas Board of Administration from 1913 to 1919, and continued as publisher of the ''Marion Record'' until his death in Marion on June 1, 1925.

References

External links

Kansas Newspaper Hall of Fame biography

Marion County Record

Publications concerning Kansas Governor Hoch's administration available via the KGI Online Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoch, Edward W. 1849 births 1925 deaths Politicians from Danville, Kentucky Methodists from Kansas Republican Party governors of Kansas Republican Party members of the Kansas House of Representatives People from Marion, Kansas 20th-century Kansas politicians 19th-century members of the Kansas Legislature 19th-century American newspaper publishers (people) 20th-century American newspaper publishers (people)