Franklin S. Billings

Franklin S. Billings

Franklin Swift Billings (born May 11, 1862 in New Bedford , Massachusetts , † January 16, 1935 in Woodstock , Vermont ) was an American politician and governor of the state of Vermont from 1925 to 1927 .

Early years and business advancement

Franklin Billings came from one of the richest and most prominent families in Vermont. Until 1885 he studied at Harvard University . After an intermezzo as a sheep farmer in Kansas , he entered the foreign trade business in New York . In 1903 he moved to Vermont, where he became a director of the Woodstock Railway . At the same time he was on the board of directors of other companies such as the Woodstock Electric Company or the Woodstock Hotel Company .

Political career

Franklin Billings was a member of the Republican Party . Between 1904 and 1906 he headed the national guard of his state as a colonel . Between 1910 and 1913 and again from 1921 to 1923 he was a member of the House of Representatives of Vermont , where he was its president from 1921 to 1922. Between 1923 and 1925, Billings was Lieutenant Governor's Deputy Governor Redfield Proctor . In 1925 he was elected governor of his state himself. Billings took up his new office on January 8, 1925. During his two-year tenure, the Vermont Motor Vehicle Registration Authority was established. The federal government provided some of the state's forests and nature conservation.

Another résumé

After the end of his governorship, Billings became a member of the control committee that oversaw Prohibition and was on the board of directors of Harvard University. Franklin Billings was married twice and had four children in total. His son Franklin was later, among other things, chairman of the Vermont Supreme Court and federal district judge.

literature

• Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 4, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

Web links

Commons : Franklin S. Billings  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files

• Franklin S. Billings in the National Governors Association (English)

• Franklin S. Billings in the database of Find a Grave (English)