Governor Simeon S. Willis Children 1 Died February 17, 1978 Preceded by Rodes K. Myers Education University of Kentucky | Political party Republican Name Kenneth Tuggle Party Republican Party Spouse(s) Mary Vivian Shifley Role Attorney at law Succeeded by Lawrence Wetherby | |
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Full Name Kenneth Herndon Tuggle Born June 12, 1904
Barbourville, Kentucky ( 1904-06-12 ) | ||
Alma mater University of Kentucky | ||
Kenneth H. Tuggle (June 12, 1904 – February 17, 1978), a Republican, served as the 39th Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky, 1943-1947. It was 53 years before another Republican was elected Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky.
Tuggle practiced law in Barbourville, Kentucky from 1927 up to his election in 1943. In 1939 he was the Republican nominee for Attorney General of Kentucky but lost the general election. In 1943 he was nominated for lieutenant governor and was narrowly elected, with Simeon S. Willis at the top of the ticket. Tuggle won by a count of 265,833 votes to 264,793; he had won just barely half of the vote against Democratic nominee William H. May.
In 1953 President Dwight Eisenhower appointed Tuggle to the Interstate Commerce Commission and Tuggle remained on it until he retired on December 31, 1975. He developed a reputation as one of the nation's leading experts on the railroad industry.