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 17,101 at the 2020 census, with an estimated population of 17,342 in 2022. 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 (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 33,293. Its county seat is Denton, Maryland, Denton. The county is part of the Eastern Shor ...

, public schools before attending the

Mercersburg Academy Mercersburg Academy (formerly Marshall College and Mercersburg College) is an independent college-preparatory boarding and day high school in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Founded in 1893, the school enrolls approximately 4 ...

Mercersburg, Pennsylvania Mercersburg is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in Franklin County, Pennsylvania, United States. The borough is southwest of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrisburg, the state capital. Due to its location in a rural area, it had a relatively la ...

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

Second World War 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 ...

. After the War, Hughes continued his education by attending

Mount Saint Mary's University Mount St. Mary's University is a Private university, private Catholic university in Emmitsburg, Maryland, United States. It has the largest Catholic seminary in the United States. Undergraduate programs are divided between the College of Libera ...

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, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

, from which he graduated in 1949. At Maryland he was a member of the Alpha Psi chapter of the

Theta Chi Theta Chi () is an international men's college fraternity. It was founded on April 10, 1856, at Norwich University then-located in Norwich, Vermont. It has initiated more than 215,000 members and has over 8,900 collegiate members across North A ...

social fraternity. He received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from

The George Washington University Law School The George Washington University Law School (GW Law) is the law school of George Washington University, a private research university in Washington, D.C. Established in 1865, GW Law is the oldest law school in Washington, D.C. GW Law has an al ...

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 * Protein bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a laye ...

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 games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player in the

Eastern Shore League The Eastern Shore Baseball League was a class D minor league baseball league that operated on the Delmarva Peninsula for parts of three different decades. The league's first season was in 1922 and the last was in 1949, although the years were not ...

. 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 Maryland General Assembly, legislature of the U.S. state of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House ...

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 ...

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

Cecil Cecil may refer to: People with the name * Cecil (given name), a given name (including a list of people and fictional characters with the name) * Cecil (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Places Canada * Cecil, Alberta ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Queen Anne's Queen Anne's County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 49,874. Its county seat and most populous municipality is Centreville. The census-designated place of Stevensville ...

, and

Talbot Talbot is a dormant automobile marque introduced in 1902 by British-French company Clément-Talbot. The founders, Charles Chetwynd-Talbot, 20th Earl of Shrewsbury and Adolphe Clément-Bayard, reduced their financial interests in their Clément ...

counties. In 1971, Hughes was offered and accepted the position of

Secretary of Transportation The United States secretary of transportation is the head of the United States Department of Transportation. The secretary serves as the principal advisor to the president of the United States on all matters relating to transportation. The secre ...

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 Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

. Hughes was elected governor in 1978 after defeating Lieutenant Governor

Blair Lee III Francis Preston Blair Lee III (May 19, 1916 – October 25, 1985) was an American politician who served as the second lieutenant governor of Maryland from 1971 to 1979 and served as acting governor of Maryland from 1977 to 1979, during Marv ...

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 (United States), Mid-Atlantic region and is primarily separated from the Atlantic Ocean by the Delmarva Peninsula, including parts of the Ea ...

. 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. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. The

Savings and Loan crisis The savings and loan crisis of the 1980s and 1990s (commonly dubbed the S&L crisis) was the failure of approximately a third of the savings and loan associations (S&Ls or thrifts) in the United States between 1986 and 1995. These thrifts were b ...

, 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 d ...

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

Robert A. Pascal Robert A. Pascal (July 20, 1934 – March 12, 2021) was an American Republican politician, collegiate football player, professional Canadian football player and a propane entrepreneur who served as County Executive of Anne Arundel County, Mar ...

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. B ...

both unsuccessfully sought the Democratic nomination for the

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

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 (United States), Democratic Party, she also served i ...

, who went on to win the general election.

Later career

Hughes was a member of the

Chesapeake Bay Trust The Chesapeake Bay Trust is a non-profit organization established by the Maryland General Assembly in 1985. Its mission is to support restoration and environmental education efforts that improve the health of the Chesapeake Bay watershed and Mar ...

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 university system in the U.S. state of Maryland. The system is composed of the eleven campuses at College Park, Baltimore County, Baltimore, Princess Anne, Towson, Salisbury, Bowie, Frost ...

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 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 Secretaries of Transportation of Maryland United States Navy personnel of World War II University of Maryland, College Park alumni Writers from Maryland 20th-century members of the Maryland General Assembly

Early life and family

Political career

Later career

See also

References

External links