Johnston Murray, born July 21, 1902 in the Chickasaw Nation, in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), was the first Native American to be elected as governor in the United States. His mother Mary Alice Hearrell was one-eighth Chickasaw, but Johnston never opted to enroll as a citizen of the Chickasaw Nation.
His father William Murray was an advisor to Governor Douglas Johnston of the Chickasaw Nation, and served as ninth governor of Oklahoma from 1931-1935.
Johnston Murray attended public schools in Tishomingo, Oklahoma and attended college at the now Murray State College (named for his father), graduating in 1924.
He became active in state politics with the Democratic Party, and in 1940, he was elected chairman of the Oklahoma Electoral College. He then served as the Democratic chair of Oklahoma's 8th Congressional District.
Murray was elected Governor of Oklahoma in November 1950, taking office January 21, 1951. He was the first Oklahoma governor to be elected as Chairman of the Southern Governors Conference. He funded the Turner Turnpike, which connected Oklahoma City and Tulsa. The project had been approved by the legislature in 1947, and it was completed during his administration. Murray was instrumental in purchasing the state fairgrounds in Oklahoma City.
After leaving politics he worked in Fort Worth, Texas for a while, before returning to Oklahoma City, in 1960. He passed away in April 1976 after a surgery for a ruptured abdominal blood vessel.
No comments:
Post a Comment