Dan Moody

Moody boyhood home in Taylor in Williamson County, Texas

Daniel James Moody, Jr. (June 1, 1893 – May 22, 1966), was a Democratic political figure, originally from Taylor, Texas, USA. He served as the 30th Governor of Texas between 1927 and 1931, and is best remembered as a reformer and an opponent of the Ku Klux Klan. At the age of thirty-three, he was elected and took office as the youngest governor in Texas history.

Texas Historical Marker Text:

"A crusader for integrity in public office. Born in Taylor, Williamson County; son of Daniel and Nancy Elizabeth Robertson Moody. At 16 entered University of Texas, where he completed law school. After World War I service, won election to the office of county attorney, then an appointment by Governor Pat Neff to District Attorney, Travis and Williamson counties. Won statewide notice for prosecutions of Ku Klux Klansmen in notorious flogging cases, and was urged by friends to run for Attorney General of Texas. He won this office, and served 1925-1927 in an era of alleged corruption. Moving to halt kickbacks on highway contracts, he recovered for Texas hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Graves of Governor Dan Moody and Mrs. Mildred Moody at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin

"On March 6, 1926, Moody declared his candidacy for governor running on his record as Attorney General and was elected. Inaugurated when he was 33, he was youngest man ever to take oath for that office. During his terms, 1927–1931, Texans' faith in their state government was restored. Great reforms were made in the Texas Highway Department and state penitentiary system."

After retirement from the governor's office, Moody practiced law, and was appointed by the President of the United States to prosecute tax evaders. He married the former Mildred Paxton (1897–1983), a native of Abilene, Texas on April 20, 1926. The Moodys had two children.

The Moodys are interred at the Texas State Cemetery. So is their son, also Dan Moody (January 6, 1925–October 27, 2000). His widow is Ann Hardwick Moody (born January 8, 1932).

Moody's gravestone reads: "Whose integrity and dedication created lasting standards for conduct in office and in his belove profession, the law."

External links

• Governor Dan Moody Museum
• Dan Moody from the Handbook of Texas Online

Political offices
Preceded by Miriam A. Ferguson	Governor of Texas 1927–1931	Succeeded by Ross S. Sterling