Fred Warren Green (October 19, 1871November 30, 1936) was an American politician who served as the 31st

governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...

from 1927 to 1931, and he was the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

, Michigan, from 1913 to 1916. Active in athletics during his time as a student at Michigan State Normal School (now

Eastern Michigan University Eastern Michigan University (EMU, EMich, Eastern Michigan or simply Eastern) is a public university, public research university in Ypsilanti, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1849 as the Michigan State Normal School, it was the fourth normal ...

), and 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 ...

, Green earned a varsity letter playing for the Michigan State Normal football team in 1895 and is credited as the team's head coach during the 1896 season in which they were declared champions of the

Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) is an List of NCAA conferences, intercollegiate athletic conference that competes in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA's Division III (NCAA), Division III. There are nine ...

. Green served as a delegate to the

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

and

1936 Republican National Convention The 1936 Republican National Convention was held June 9–12 at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio. It nominated Governor Alfred Landon of Kansas for president and Frank Knox of Illinois for vice president. The convention supported many N ...

Early life

Education and athletics

Green was born in Manistee, Michigan, and grew up in

Cadillac Cadillac Motor Car Division, or simply Cadillac (), is the luxury vehicle division (business), division of the American automobile manufacturer General Motors (GM). Its major markets are the United States, Canada and China; Cadillac models are ...

, son of Holden Nathaniel Green and his wife Adaline Green (née Clark). His education was attained in

Ypsilanti Ypsilanti ( ), commonly shortened to Ypsi ( ), is a college town and city located on the Huron River in Washtenaw County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 20,648. The city is bounded to the north ...

at Michigan State Normal School (now Eastern Michigan University), where he graduated in 1893, and at the

Ann Arbor Ann Arbor is a city in Washtenaw County, Michigan, United States, and its county seat. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851, making it the List of municipalities in Michigan, fifth-most populous cit ...

, where he earned a law degree in 1898. When Michigan State Normal joined the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1892, Green was selected as the school's first representative to the athletic conference. From 1893 to 1895, Green worked as a reporter in Ypsilanti. During this time, he continued his involvement in Michigan State Normal athletics, serving as Manager of Foot Ball for the Normal Athletic Association during the first term of 1893–94 academic year and as Director of Sports during the second term. In 1895, Green earned a varsity letter as a member of the Michigan State Normal football team. The following year, in 1896, he coached the football team to a 4–1 record. Michigan Normal was named the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association champions that season with a record of 2–0 in the conference. The team's sole loss came against the University of Michigan football team, the only team that scored against the Normalites that season. While a student at Michigan, Green was the Class Athletic Manager during the 1897–98 academic year.

Head coaching record

Military service and legal work

Green served in the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary 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 the United Stat ...

during the

Spanish–American War The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...

. He was a

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

in the 31st Michigan Volunteer Infantry and later was promoted to battalion

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of “human resources” in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed ...

. After the war, he returned to

as the city attorney, as well as attorney for the Ypsilanti Reed Furniture Company, a business he later owned in a partnership. His furniture company in Ionia was "one of the largest industries of its kind in the country".

Politics

In 1904, he moved the business to Ionia, Michigan. He was a delegate to

Republican National Convention The Republican National Convention (RNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1856 by the Republican Party in the United States. They are administered by the Republican National Committee. The goal o ...

from

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

in 1912, where

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

William Howard Taft William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) served as the 27th president of the United States from 1909 to 1913 and the tenth chief justice of the United States from 1921 to 1930. He is the only person to have held both offices. ...

was renominated. Green served as mayor of Ionia from 1913 to 1916 and was instrumental in the establishing the Ionia Free Fair in 1915, which, at one time, was the world's largest free admission event of its kind. From 1915 to 1919, he was treasurer of the

Michigan Republican Party The Michigan Republican Party is the state affiliate of the national Republican Party in Michigan, United States, sometimes referred to as MIGOP. Ronna Romney McDaniel was the chairwoman of the party, having been elected in 2015 by delegates ...

. In 1920, he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention that nominated

Warren G. Harding Warren Gamaliel Harding (November 2, 1865 – August 2, 1923) was the 29th president of the United States, serving from 1921 until his death in 1923. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he was one of the most ...

for president. On November 2, 1926, Green was elected governor of Michigan. He was re-elected to a second two-year term in 1928. On May 18, 1927, the afternoon of the

Bath School disaster The Bath School disaster, also known as the Bath School massacre, was a series of violent attacks perpetrated by Andrew Kehoe upon the Bath Community Schools, Bath Consolidated School in Bath Charter Township, Michigan, Bath Township, Michiga ...

, Green assisted in the relief work, carting bricks away from the scene. In 1928, he served as a delegate to the RNC which nominated Commerce Secretary

Herbert Hoover Herbert Clark Hoover (August 10, 1874 – October 20, 1964) was the 31st president of the United States, serving from 1929 to 1933. A wealthy mining engineer before his presidency, Hoover led the wartime Commission for Relief in Belgium and ...

for president. Howard C. Lawrence was Green's secretary and business partner. During his administration, Green expanded a fish planting program and took part in the acquisition of seven state parks. He initiated a comprehensive budget system, authorized a new code of criminal practices, secured appropriations for a state hospital building program, and improved workmen's compensation. The Green administration was notably important in modernizing Michigan's highways. He is touted as the "inventor of the no passing lane", which was adopted as an important safety improvement throughout the country. He was also an early proponent of the

Mackinac Bridge The Mackinac Bridge ( ; also referred to as the Mighty Mac or Big Mac) is a suspension bridge that connects the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper and Lower Peninsula of Michigan, Lower peninsulas of the U.S. state of Michigan. It spans the Str ...

. On October 22, 1927, Governor Green participated in the dedication of the new University of Michigan Football Stadium: "Michigan Governor Fred W. Green and his Ohio counterpart Vince Donahey, and Presidents C. C. Little of Michigan and George W. Rightmire of Ohio, led the massed bands of the two universities onto the field from the east tunnel. The bands paraded to the flag pole where the national ensign was raised and the vast throng stood bareheaded during the playing of the '

Star Spangled Banner "The Star-Spangled Banner" is the national anthem of the United States. The lyrics come from the "Defence of Fort M'Henry", a poem written by American lawyer Francis Scott Key on September 14, 1814, after he witnessed the bombardment of Fort ...

' and ' The Yellow and Blue. In 1927, he appointed

Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg Arthur Hendrick Vandenberg Sr. (March 22, 1884April 18, 1951) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Michigan from 1928 to 1951. A member of the Republican Party, he participated in the creation of the United Nati ...

, who was editor of the ''Grand Rapids Herald'', to the

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

to replace as the late Senator Woodbridge N. Ferris. He chose Vandenberg only when pressured to do so by the state Republican organization. In 1928, Green's campaign created the slogan "Keep Michigan Green" as a part of a fire prevention program. A portrait of Governor Green is held in the collections of the Michigan State Capitol. Painted by Robert Grafton in 1931, the portrait is a naturalistic rendering of the governor in an outdoor setting. He is dressed for a hunt and flanked by his two hunting dogs. Though the portrait is not currently on public display, further information about it can be found at the Capitol's website.

Retirement and death

After leaving office, Green returned to his favorite pastime of hunting and fishing. In 1932, Green served as a delegate to the RNC which nominated

for re-election, who was defeated by

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...

. In 1936, he again served as a delegate to the RNC which nominated

Alf Landon Alfred Mossman Landon (September 9, 1887October 12, 1987) was an American oilman and politician who served as the 26th governor of Kansas from 1933 to 1937. A member of the Republican Party, he was the party's nominee in the 1936 presidential ...

for president, who was also unsuccessful at unseating Roosevelt. He was a

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 ...

and 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 ...

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 Rotary. Fred Green died in Munising Hospital in Munising, Michigan, on November 30, 1936, ten days after suffering a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

while on a deer hunting trip. He is entombed in a mausoleum at the Highland Park Cemetery in

, Michigan. His accumulated papers, two linear feet and five volumes, are at the

Bentley Historical Library The Bentley Historical Library is the campus archive for the University of Michigan and is located on the University of Michigan's North Campus in Ann Arbor. It was established in 1935 by the regents of the University of Michigan. Its mission ...

at the University of Michigan.

References

Sources

Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Green, E to F
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Fred W. 1871 births 1936 deaths Republican Party governors of Michigan Mayors of places in Michigan Michigan lawyers United States Army officers American military personnel of the Spanish–American War Eastern Michigan Eagles football coaches Eastern Michigan Eagles football players University of Michigan Law School alumni American Presbyterians People from Ionia, Michigan People from Cadillac, Michigan People from Manistee, Michigan Military personnel from Michigan 20th-century Michigan politicians