Ernest Lister

Ernest Lister
8th Governor of Washington
In office January 11, 1913 – February 13, 1919
Lieutenant	Louis F. Hart
Preceded by	Marion E. Hay
Succeeded by	Louis F. Hart
Personal details
Born	June 15, 1870 Halifax, England
Died	June 14, 1919 (aged 48)
Political party	Democrat
Spouse(s)	Alma Thornton

Ernest Lister (June 15, 1870 – June 14, 1919) was the eighth Governor of the state of Washington.

Biography

Born in Halifax, England, Lister immigrated with his family in 1884, to be near his uncle who was mayor of Tacoma, Washington.

Career

Lister began working as an iron-molder in his brother's foundry in Tacoma. He operated a foundry and woodworking shop as well as working in real estate and insurance. He owned Lister Construction Company from 1903 to 1912, and President of Lister Manufacturing Company.^[1] He married Mary Alma Thornton on February 28, 1893, and they had two children, Florence and John Ernest. He was elected to the Tacoma City Council in 1894 as a Populist. After a successful management of Governor John Rankin Rogers' campaign in 1896, Lister was appointed chairman of the State Board of Control.

Lister became the only elected Democrat in Washington's executive branch of government when he was elected in 1912. He was sworn into the office on January 11, 1913, re-elected in 1916, and remained in it until his death six years later. As governor, he supported agricultural aid, irrigation and reclamation projects, and state industrial accident insurance. He vetoed legislation that would have denied civil rights to members of the Industrial Workers of the World. And his efforts helped bring the eight-hour work day to the Pacific Northwest. He became ill during his second term and relinquished his office to the Lieutenant Governor.^[2]

Death

Lister died in office, one day before his forty-ninth birthday,^[3] on June 14, 1919, from heart and kidney disease, in Seattle, Washington. He is interred at Tacoma Cemetery, Tacoma, Washington.^[4]

See also

• List of Governors of Washington

References

1. "Ernest Lister". Washington Secretary of State. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
2. "Ernest Lister". National Governors Association. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
3. "Ernest Lister". National Governors Association. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
4. "Ernest Lisster". The Political Graveyard. Retrieved 11 October 2012.

Further reading

• Meany, Edmond S (1915). Governors of Washington : territorial and state. University of Washington,.Available online through the Washington State Library's Classics in Washington History collection

External links

• Washington Secretary of State
• Find A Grave
• The Political Graveyard
• National Governors Association