Lieutenant William J. Coyle Succeeded by Roland H. Hartley Name Louis Hart | Preceded by Marion E. Hay Preceded by Ernest Lister Resigned January 12, 1925 | |
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Born January 4, 1862
High Point, Missouri, U.S. ( 1862-01-04 ) Role Former Governor of Washington Died December 4, 1929, Tacoma, Washington, United States Previous office Governor of Washington (1919–1925) | ||
Louis Folwell Hart (January 4, 1862 – December 4, 1929) was the seventh Lieutenant Governor of the state of Washington and was the ninth Governor of Washington State from 13 February 1919 to 12 January 1925. He is most remembered for reorganizing the state's administrative structure by reducing the number of agencies and the consequent financial economies.
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Biography
Hart was born in High Point, Missouri and studied law in Missouri. He married Ella James on 9 February 1881 in Missouri and over the course of years they had five children, three sons and two daughters,
Career
Lured by the frontier, Hart and his wife moved to Snohomish, Washington in the late-1880s, where he practiced law. In 1899 they moved to Tacoma where he continued to practice law and was an insurance agent.
Winning the Republican nomination in 1912, Hart was elected as Washington’s seventh Lieutenant Governor and he was reelected in 1916.
During World War I Hart served chairman of the Selective Service Appeals Board for Southwest Washington. Hart became governor when the then governor Ernest Lister retired in 1919 due to failing health.
Hart was elected governor in his own right in 1920. Hart was instrumental in getting new road projects through the state legislature and strongly supported the creation of a state highway patrol. He oversaw the construction of a new State Capitol complex. Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was reorganizing the state's administrative structure, reducing the number of administrative agencies from 75 to 10.
He did not have a Lieutenant Governor from his election as governor until William J. Coyle appointed to the office in 1921. He is the last governor of the state, to date, that did not have a Lieutenant Governor at any time during his governorship.
Hart did not run for reelection in 1924, but instead retired to Tacoma where he practiced law, and served as the president of the State Good Roads Association.
Death
Hart died on December 4, 1929, in Tacoma, Washington. He is interred at Masonic Memorial Park, Tumwater, Washington.