TRIVIA

Senator from Texas; born in Dayton, Liberty County, Tex., October 10, 1910; attended the public schools of Liberty and Fort Worth graduating from Paschal High; reporter, Fort Worth Star-Telegram 1926-1927 and Waco News Tribune 1929-1931; graduated from Baylor University, Waco, Tex., in 1931 and from the law school of the same university in 1932; admitted to the Texas bar in 1932 and began practice in Liberty, Tex.; co-owner and publisher of two weekly newspapers; member, State house of representatives 1939-1943, serving as speaker in 1943; enlisted as a private in the United States Army in 1943 and served in the Pacific Theater and in Japan until discharged as a captain in June 1946; attorney general of Texas 1946-1953; elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate for the term beginning January 3, 1953, and served until his resignation January 14, 1957; Governor of Texas 1957-1963; practiced law in Liberty and Austin, Tex., 1963-1967; appointed by President Lyndon Johnson as Director of the Office of Emergency Preparedness and Assistant to the President for Federal-State Relations 1967-1969; also served on the National Security Council and as President Johnson’s liaison with Governors; served 8 years as a member of the Texas supreme court; resumed the practice of law; died in Liberty, Tex., August 25, 1988; interment in the family burial ground.

Called "the best governor in America" by National Review magazine, he was sworn in as Colorado’s 40th Governor in January 1999. He was re-elected in 2002 with the greatest majority in Colorado history, earning a broad mandate for his innovative leadership. He was recently touted as one of the major emerging leaders in American politics by The Economist magazine, and was identified as one of the country’s top ten rising political stars by syndicated columnist Robert Novak. He is the Chairman of the Republican Governors’ Association.