Julius Caldeen Gunter (October 31, 1858 – October 26, 1940) was the 21st Governor of Colorado from January 9, 1917, until his term ended on January 14, 1919. He was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, to Col. Thomas M. Gunter and Marcella Jackson Gunter who died just weeks after his birth. He earned a LL.D Degree when he graduated from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

in 1879. His first major political job was being elected to the

Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the court was established in 1876. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices who are appointed by the Governor of Colorado from a ...

which he served on between 1905 and 1907. In 1916, he entered the

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

gubernatorial election, and was elected on November 7. The same year he entered office, the United States entered World War I. Gunter helped organize the Colorado Home Guard, the Colorado Wartime Council, and the Council of Defense which were to aid the troops. He was also the first Governor to implement the use of the

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

. His term ended the same year the war ended. Gunter lost renomination for a second term in Colorado's 1918 Democratic primary. He later declined offers to return to the Colorado Supreme Court. He died in his home in

Denver Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...

, Colorado on October 26, 1940, just shy of his 82nd birthday, and was buried in Fairmount Cemetery, Denver.

References

External links

Governor Julius Caldeen Gunter Collection at the Colorado State Archives
* Democratic Party governors of Colorado 1858 births 1940 deaths American Episcopalians Politicians from Fayetteville, Arkansas Justices of the Colorado Supreme Court {{Colorado-politician-stub