Died July 5, 1976 Resigned January 4, 1943 | Name Nels Smith | |
Born August 27, 1884Gayville, South Dakota ( 1884-08-27 ) Education University of South Dakota Previous office Governor of Wyoming (1939–1943) | ||
Nels Hansen Smith (August 27, 1884 – July 5, 1976) was an American politician who served as the 18th Governor of Wyoming from 1939 until 1943. He was a Republican.
Born and reared in Gayville, South Dakota, Smith moved to Wyoming in 1907 and subsequently was elected to the Wyoming House of Representatives for the Fifteenth State Legislature. He lived in Crook County.
He lost the 1942 election to Lester Hunt, a Democrat. In 1942, Smith and two partners bought Ranch A in Crook County, from the estate of Moses Annenberg which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
His granddaughter Connie Smith, 10 years old, disappeared in Salisbury Connecticut while attending summer camp in the 1952. He and his son (Connie's father) exhausted all resources trying to find her, but to no avail. She has never been found.