R. H. Wilson

R. H. Wilson
R. H. Wilson
2nd Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction
	In office; November 16, 1911 – 1923
Governor	Lee Cruce; Robert L. Williams; James B. A. Robertson
Preceded by	Evan Dhu Cameron
Succeeded by	M. A. Nash
Personal details
Born	Robert H. Wilson; August 25, 1873
Died	October 4, 1937 (aged 64)
Political party	Democratic Party

Robert H. Wilson was an American politician who served as the 2nd Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1911 to 1923 and unsuccessfully ran for governor of Oklahoma in 1922.

Early life, family, and career

Robert H. Wilson was born in Allen County, Kentucky on August 25, 1873, to John A. Wilson and Mary E. Briley. He left Kentucky in 1891, moving to Texas and attending Grayson College in Whitewright. On September 17, 1899, he married Grace Womack and they had two children. In 1903 he moved to Chickasha, Indian Territory (now Grady County, Oklahoma). He was later elected the principal of a Chickasha grade school and taught 12 years in .^[1]^[2] He was the first president of the Oklahoma School Officers' Association.^[2]

Oklahoma Superintendent

At Oklahoma statehood Wilson was elected County Superintendent of Grady County, Oklahoma.^[1] He held the office until he defeated Evan Dhu Cameron in the 1910 Democratic primary for Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction and won the general election.^[3] He was reelected in 1914 and 1918.^[1]

1922 Gubernatorial campaign

Wilson ran in the 1922 Oklahoma gubernatorial election with the endorsement of the Ku Klux Klan, but lost the primary to Jack C. Walton.^[4]

Later life and death

He died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on October 4, 1937.^[1]

Electoral history

Oklahoma State Superintendent Democratic primary (August 2, 1910)^[3]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	R. H. Wilson	62,337	56.7%
	Democratic	Evan Dhu Cameron (incumbent)	47,433	43.3%
Turnout			108.770

1910 Oklahoma State Superintendent election^[3]
	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
Democratic	R. H. Wilson	118,628	50.3%	−4.5%
Republican	John P. Evans	93,549	39.6%	−1.5%
Socialist	S.S. Smith	23,642	10.0%	+6.1%
Democratic hold		Swing

1922 Oklahoma gubernatorial Democratic primary results^[5]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Jack C. Walton	119,248	44.2
	Democratic	R. H. Wilson	84,320	31.2
	Democratic	Thomas H. Owen	63,915	23.7
	Democratic	Arthur Finn	1,206	0.4
	Democratic	Frank Ziska	849	0.3
Total votes			269,538	100.00

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "NECROLOGY". Chronicles of Oklahoma. 15 (4): 498. December 1937 – via Oklahoma Historical Society.
^ ^a ^b Corden, Seth K.; Richards, William B. (1912). The Oklahoma red book. Oklahoma City, Okla. : [s.n.] p. 122. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c "1907-1912 Results" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
^ O'Dell, Larry. "Walton, John Calloway (1881-1949)". okhistory.org. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
^ "1922-1926 Results" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 25 March 2024.

Party political offices
Preceded by Evan Dhu Cameron	Democratic nominee for Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction 1910, 1914, 1918	Succeeded by M. A. Nash

[:0-1] "NECROLOGY". Chronicles of Oklahoma. 15 (4): 498. December 1937 – via Oklahoma Historical Society.

[Red_Book_Bio-2] Corden, Seth K.; Richards, William B. (1912). The Oklahoma red book. Oklahoma City, Okla. : [s.n.] p. 122. Retrieved 19 February 2024.

[1910_Results-3] "1907-1912 Results" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 23 September 2023.

[4] O'Dell, Larry. "Walton, John Calloway (1881-1949)". okhistory.org. Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture. Retrieved 25 March 2024.

[1922-1926_results-5] "1922-1926 Results" (PDF). oklahoma.gov. Oklahoma State Election Board. Retrieved 25 March 2024.

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