Tim M. Babcock

Tim Milford Babcock (born October 27, 1919 in Littlefork , Minnesota , † April 7, 2015 in Helena , Montana ) was an American politician ( Republican Party ). He was the 16th governor of the state of Montana between 1962 and 1969 .

Early years and political advancement

Babcock attended Dawson County High School through 1939 . He then went to Santa Monica , California , where he worked for Douglas Aircraft. During the Second World War he fought in an infantry unit in Europe. After the war, he joined his father-in-law's transportation company in Miles City . There he was first a truck driver and then a manager. The company, which specialized in oil transport, originally only had two tankers. The fleet of vehicles soon increased to 50 vehicles and the company's operational area spanned four US states.

From 1953 to 1954 and again from 1957 to 1960 Babcock was a member of the House of Representatives in Montana . In 1960 he was elected lieutenant governor of his state. After Governor Donald Grant Nutter was killed in a plane crash, Babcock had to take over on January 25, 1962.

Governor of Montana

Babcock narrowly won the gubernatorial elections in 1964. As governor, he proposed a three percent increase in VAT to finance the government budget. He was a member of several governors' associations. The Vietnam War fell during his term of office , for which Montana had to deploy soldiers. In 1968 Babcock had to admit defeat to the Democratic challenger Forrest Anderson . He handed over his office on January 6, 1969.

After his tenure, Babcock worked for the businessman Armand Hammer and his company Occidental Petroleum . In 1973, President Richard Nixon appointed Babcock to a committee that dealt with the oceans and the atmosphere of the earth (Committee on Oceans and Atmosphere) . Soon afterwards, Babcock became embroiled in a scandal over Hammer's donation to Nixon's re-election campaign in 1972 and pleaded guilty in 1974 to hiding the source of a donation of $ 54,000 to Nixon. Babcock was fined $ 1,000 and four months in prison.

Babcock was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions eleven times . From 1996 to 2000 he was a member of the Republican National Committee . Among other things, he was a member of some veterans' associations. He had two children with his wife, Betty Lee.

Web links

• Babcock in the National Governors Association (English)
• Of Governors of Montana short biographies (English)

Individual evidence

1. ^ Former Montana Governor Tim Babcock dies at age 95; remained active in politics for decades ( Memento of the original from April 17, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.