Murray Van Wagoner

Murray Van Wagoner
38th Governor of Michigan
In office January 1, 1941 – January 1, 1943
Lieutenant	Frank Murphy
Preceded by	Luren Dickinson
Succeeded by	Harry Kelly
Personal details
Born	March 18, 1898 Kingston, Michigan
Died	June 12, 1986 (aged 88) Farmington Hills, Michigan
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Helen Jossman

Murray Delos Van Wagoner (March 18, 1898 – June 12, 1986) was an American politician. He served as the 38th Governor of Michigan from 1941 to 1943.

Early life

Van Wagoner was born near Kingston, Michigan in Tuscola County. In 1921, he received a civil engineering degree from the University of Michigan. He worked for a firm in the private sector, and became the owner of his own company. He married Helen Jossman and they had two children together. In 1930, he served as Oakland County drain commissioner until 1933 when he became Michigan State Highway commissioner which he served until 1942.

Politics

Van Wagoner was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 1936 and 1940, both of which re-nominated Franklin D. Roosevelt for U.S. President.

On November 5, 1940, he defeated the incumbent Republican Governor of Michigan, Luren Dickinson, by 131,281 votes to become Michigan's 38th governor. During his two years in office, he encouraged the construction of road projects and most famously the Mackinac Bridge, the elimination of a 27 million dollar deficit occurred, the state mental hospital was reinstated, a consolidated tax collection department was established, worker strikes involving the auto and electrical industries were dealt with, the reorganization of the Michigan civil service system was initialized, and measures were secured for the war effort.

In 1942, Van Wagoner was unsuccessful for re-election against Republican Harry Kelly.

Van Wagoner was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1944, which re-nominated President Roosevelt for his fourth term. In 1946, he was defeated in his gubernatorial bid against Kim Sigler, who won the general election. He was also a delegate to the 1952 convention, which nominated Adlai Stevenson, who was unsuccessful in the general election against Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Retirement, death and legacy

Van Wagoner retired from political life and returned to his engineering interests. He was a member of American Legion, Freemasons, Elks, and the National Exchange Club. He died at the age of eighty-eight in Farmington Hills, Michigan. He is interred at White Chapel Memorial Park Cemetery of Troy.

Today the Michigan Department of Transportation building in Lansing is named after him, The Murray Van Wagoner Transportation Building.

References

• National Governors Association
• The Political Graveyard
• Find A Grave Memorial