Murray Delos Van Wagoner (March 18, 1898June 12, 1986) was an American politician. He served as the 38th
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 1941 to 1943.
Early life
Van Wagoner was born near
Kingston, Michigan in
Tuscola County
Tuscola County ( ) is a County (United States), county in the The Thumb, Thumb region of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 53,323. The county seat is Caro, Michigan, Caro. The coun ...
. In 1921, he received a
civil engineering
Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...
degree from 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 ...
. He worked for a firm in the private sector, and became the owner of his own company. He married Helen Jossman and they had two children together.
Politics
Van Wagoner served as
Oakland County
Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its seat of government is Pontiac, and its largest city is Troy. As of the ...
drain commissioner from 1930 until 1933, when he became
Michigan State Highway commissioner, a position he held until he was elected governor in 1940. He was a delegate to the
Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...
s in
1936
Events January–February
* January 20 – The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King Edward VIII, following the death of his father, George V, at Sandringham House.
* January 28 – Death and state funer ...
and
1940
A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280.
Events
Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
*Janu ...
, both of which re-nominated
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 ...
for U.S. President.
On November 5, 1940, he defeated the incumbent
Republican 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 ...
,
Luren Dickinson
Luren Dudley Dickinson (April 15, 1859 – April 22, 1943) was an American politician. He served as the 37th governor of Michigan from 1939 to 1941. He holds the record of the oldest person to ever serve as Michigan governor, beginning at the age ...
, by 131,281 votes to become Michigan's 38th governor. During his two years in office, he encouraged the construction of road projects and most famously 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 ...
, the elimination of a 27 million dollar deficit occurred, the state mental hospital was reinstated, a consolidated tax collection department was established, worker strikes involving the auto and electrical industries were dealt with, the reorganization of the Michigan civil service system was initialized, and measures were secured for the war effort.
In 1942, Van Wagoner was unsuccessful for re-election against
Republican Harry Kelly. Van Wagoner was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
, which re-nominated President Roosevelt for his fourth term. In 1946, he ran for governor again and was defeated by Republican
Kim Sigler
Kimber Cornellus Sigler, commonly known as Kim Sigler (né Zeigler; May 2, 1894 – November 30, 1953), was an American attorney and politician who served as the 40th governor of Michigan from 1947 to 1949.
Early life
Sigler was born ...
.
In October 1947, General
Lucius D. Clay appointed Van Wagoner to the post of military governor of
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
, succeeding Brigadier General Walter J. Muller. While military governor, he warned Bavarian
Minister-President Hans Ehard
Hans Ehard (10 November 1887 – 18 October 1980) was a German lawyer and politician, a member of the Christian Social Union (CSU) party.
Biography
Hans Ehard was born in Bamberg in 1887, the son of a local official, August Ehard. He was marri ...
against replacing non-Nazi public servants with former Nazis.
Van Wagoner resigned the post in November 1949.
He was a delegate to the
1952 Democratic National Convention
The 1952 Democratic National Convention was held at the International Amphitheatre in Chicago, Illinois from July 21 to July 26, 1952, which was the same arena the Republicans had gathered in a few weeks earlier for their national convention from ...
, which nominated
Adlai Stevenson Adlai Stevenson may refer to:
* Adlai Stevenson I
Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Gr ...
for
President of the United States
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 ...
. Stevenson lost the general election to General
Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...
.
Retirement, death and legacy
Van Wagoner retired from political life and returned to his engineering interests. He was a member of
American Legion
The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...
,
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 the
National Exchange Club
The National Exchange Club – a service organization with 700 clubs and more than 21,000 members throughout the United States and Puerto Rico – celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2011. Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Michigan, by businessmen who w ...
. He died at the age of eighty-eight in
Farmington Hills, Michigan
Farmington Hills is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern Metro Detroit, suburb of Detroit, Farmington Hills is located roughly from downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 United States censu ...
. He is interred at
White Chapel Memorial Cemetery in
Troy, Michigan
Troy is a city in Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Detroit, Troy is located about north of downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 87,294, ...
.
Today the
Michigan Department of Transportation
The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) is a constitutional government principal department of the US state of Michigan. The primary purpose of MDOT is to maintain the Michigan State Trunkline Highway System which includes all Interst ...
building in
Lansing
Lansing () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. It is the sixth-most populous city in Michigan with a popul ...
is named after him, ''The Murray Van Wagoner Transportation Building''. A portrait of Governor Van Wagoner, painted by
John Coppin
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second Ep ...
, hangs in the rotunda of the
Michigan State Capitol
The Michigan State Capitol is the building that houses the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the portion of the List of U.S. state capitals, state capital of Lansing, Michigan, Lansing which lies in In ...
.
[https://mscac.emuseum.com/objects/57/governor-van-wagoner?ctx=f65022d4227a303814c75ed1541b0b84463108b5&idx=0]
References
Sources
National Governors AssociationMI Capitol Portrait Collection
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Van Wagoner, Murray
1898 births
1986 deaths
Democratic Party governors of Michigan
People from Farmington Hills, Michigan
Regents of the University of Michigan
American politicians of Dutch descent
People from Tuscola County, Michigan
University of Michigan College of Engineering alumni
20th-century American Episcopalians
20th-century American academics
20th-century Michigan politicians