Roy J. Turner

Roy Joseph Turner (born November 6, 1894 in Lincoln County , Oklahoma , † June 11, 1973 in Oklahoma City , Oklahoma) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) and from 1947 to 1951 the 13th governor of the state of Oklahoma.

Early years

After high school, Turner moved to Oklahoma City, where he attended Hill's Business College . Between 1911 and 1915 he worked as an accountant and from 1916 as a dealer. During the First World War he served as a simple soldier in the US Army . After the war, he became involved in real estate trading, the oil business and cattle breeding. He built up the Harper Turner oil company and ran the Turner Ranch , where he raised the famous Hereford cattle from 1935 .

Political career

Turner had served on the Oklahoma City School Board since 1940. In 1946 he was nominated by the Democrats as a candidate for the gubernatorial election, where he narrowly prevailed against Dixie Gilmer in the runoff election . Then he defeated Olney F. Flynn , the Republican mayor of Tulsa , with 52:46 percent of the vote. He took up his new office on January 13, 1947. During his tenure, the government was reorganized and, above all, the budget departments were reformed. Other authorities such as the motorway administration or the state planning commission have also been restructured. In the area of schooling, supervisory boards for the higher education institutions were set up ( Board of Regents ) and racial segregation was also abolished in this area.

The governor was less successful in his attempt to improve the funding of school policy. The introduction of the performance principle for public service employees also failed. When the Democratic Party split into two wings in the 1948 elections, the governor remained loyal to the old party line and refused to support the southern wing ( Dixiecrats ).

Another résumé

After the end of his tenure, Turner returned to the oil business and ranching. Between 1959 and 1963 he was Chairman of the State Highway Commission . Roy Turner died in June 1973. He was married to Jessica E. Grimm, with whom he had two children.

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personal data
SURNAME	Turner, Roy J.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Turner, Roy Joseph (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician (Democratic Party)
DATE OF BIRTH	November 6, 1894
PLACE OF BIRTH	Lincoln County , Oklahoma
DATE OF DEATH	June 11, 1973
Place of death	Oklahoma City , Oklahoma