Robert Burns (politician, 1874)

Robert Burns (* 1874 in Arkansas ; † 1950 ) was an American politician . Between 1931 and 1935 he was lieutenant governor of the state of Oklahoma .

Career

Robert Burns was born on an Arkansas farm in 1874. He could neither read nor write until he was 17. After remedying this problem, he studied law at the Nashville Law School in Tennessee . In 1900 he was for the first time in what would later become the state of Oklahoma. But he returned once more to Arkansas, where he worked as a teacher for some time. He was also in Oregon for a while . Since 1905 he lived permanently in the Oklahoma Territory , where he practiced as a lawyer in various cities. In 1907 he became a district attorney in Stephens County . In 1913 he moved to Oklahoma City .

Politically, Burns joined the Democratic Party . He served in the Oklahoma Senate from 1916 to 1920 . In 1922 he ran unsuccessfully for the office of governor . In 1930 he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, alongside William H. Murray . He held this office between 1931 and 1935. He was Deputy Governor and Chairman of the State Senate. At one of his governorships, he offered a reward for the capture of Pretty Boy Floyd . He then received a letter threatening the gangster. Between 1941 and 1948 Burns sat again in the Oklahoma Senate. In addition, he was back then working as a lawyer. He died in 1950. The exact date and place of death are not known.

Web links

• The Political Graveyard
• biography