Preceded by Fuller Warren Education University of Florida Political party Democratic Party Democratic Party | Name Daniel McCarty Spouse Olie McCarty | |
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Born January 18, 1912
Fort Pierce, Florida ( 1912-01-18 ) Role Former Governor of Florida Died September 28, 1953, Tallahassee, Florida, United States Previous office Governor of Florida (1953–1953) | ||
Succeeded by Charley Eugene Johns | ||
Daniel Thomas "Dan" McCarty (January 18, 1912 – September 28, 1953) was an American politician and elected officeholder. McCarty was elected to the Florida House of Representatives, and served as its speaker, and was later elected the 31st Governor of Florida.
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Early life
Dan McCarty was born in Fort Pierce, Florida, the son of a prominent local family, and grew up in a large house on Indian River Drive just south of the present courthouse in downtown Fort Pierce. He attended local public schools including the University of Florida. While at the University of Florida he was extremely active within Florida Blue Key, Student Government, the Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity, and ROTC. After finishing his education in 1934, McCarty became a cattleman and citrus grower in Fort Pierce. He married Olie Brown with whom he had three children. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army, was promoted to the rank of Colonel, and was decorated with the Bronze Star Medal, the Purple Heart, the Legion of Merit, and the French Croix de Guerre. During World War II, he distinguished himself by being among those who landed on D-Day with the Seventh Army in the South of France.
Political career
He began his political career when in 1937, he was elected to the Florida House of Representatives where he served until 1941. During the 1941 session, he served as speaker of the house. In 1948 he was the runner up for the Democratic nomination for governor. Four years later in 1952, he ran for governor again, and this time was successful in winning the office. During his tenure, he reformed purchasing and hiring practices by the state government, boosted teachers' salaries and created scholarships for teacher training, opposed oil exploration in the Everglades, and instituted aid programs for the disabled. A chain smoker, McCarty's health was already weakened by the end of the 1952 Gubernatorial contest. According to the book Finding Dan McCarty, the Governor would frequently skip meals and overworked his already frail constitution.
On February 25, 1953, shortly after assuming the governorship, he suffered a debilitating heart attack and died on September 28, 1953 in Tallahassee. For months McCarty struggled to regain his strength, spending most of his days working in the Governor's mansion. Finally in early September he contracted a severe case of Pneumonia and died on September 28, 1953. After a large funeral at his lifelong parish church, the old Carpenter Gothic St. Andrew's Episcopal Church across the street from his boyhood home in Fort Pierce, he was buried in the Palms Cemetery three miles south on Indian River Drive in Ankona. The beginning of the bumper-to-bumper funeral procession reached the small cemetery before the last cars had left the church area. Dan McCarty Middle School, in St. Lucie County, was named in his honor.