Edwin P. Morrow

Edwin P. Morrow

Edwin Porch Morrow (born November 28, 1877 in Somerset , Pulaski County , Kentucky , † June 15, 1935 in Frankfort , Kentucky) was an American politician ( Republican Party ) and governor of the state of Kentucky.

Early youth and advancement

Edwin Morrow attended St. Marys College in Tennessee , Cumberland College, and the University of Cincinnati . There he graduated as a lawyer in 1902. From 1903 he was a lawyer with a law firm in Somerset. Between 1910 and 1913 he was a federal attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. He gained his first political experience in 1895 when he supported the successful gubernatorial campaign of his uncle William O'Connell Bradley . In 1916, 1920 and 1928 he was a delegate to the respective Republican National Conventions . In 1913 he ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the US Senate and in 1915 he was narrowly defeated by his friend Augustus Owsley Stanley in the Kentucky gubernatorial election. Four years later he was nominated again by his party. This time he succeeded with 53.8% of the vote against the incumbent James D. Black (45.3%), who had only become governor in May of the same year after the resignation of Stanley. He owed this victory in part to the fact that his opponent was grappling with allegations of corruption. On the other hand, the Republicans were on the rise nationwide in those years, as they stood in opposition to President Woodrow Wilson and his League of Nations plans.

Kentucky governor

Morrow's four-year tenure began on December 9, 1919 and ended on December 11, 1923. During his tenure, the country's Department of Transportation was reorganized and adapted to the needs of increased traffic. A Board of Charities was also established. The education system was expanded and a law against lynchings was passed. The governor took action against the activities of the Ku Klux Klan to get them under control.

After his tenure in December 1923, Morrow became a member of two railroad committees of the federal government. In 1934 he applied unsuccessfully for a seat in the US Congress. He died suddenly of a heart attack on June 15, 1935. Edwin Morrow was married to Katherine Waddle. The couple had two children.

Web links

Commons : Edwin P. Morrow  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Edwin Morrow in the National Governors Association (English)

• Edwin P. Morrow in the database of Find a Grave (English)