Harold J. Arthur

Harold John Arthur
Governor Harold J. Arthur
68th Governor of Vermont
In office January 16, 1950 – January 4, 1951
Lieutenant	Joseph B. Johnson
Preceded by	Ernest W. Gibson, Jr.
Succeeded by	Lee E. Emerson
63rd Lieutenant Governor of Vermont
In office 1949–1950
Governor	Ernest W. Gibson, Jr.
Preceded by	Lee E. Emerson
Succeeded by	Joseph B. Johnson
Member of the Vermont House of Representatives
In office 1939–1949
Personal details
Born	February 9, 1904 Whitehall, New York
Died	July 19, 1971 (aged 67) Plattsburgh, New York
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Mary C. (Alafat) Arthur
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Unitarian

Harold John Arthur (February 9, 1904 – July 19, 1971) was the 68th Governor of Vermont from 1950 to 1951.^[1] He also served as the 62nd Lieutenant Governor of Vermont from 1949 to 1950.

Biography

Arthur was born in Whitehall, New York on February 9, 1904 and raised in Addison County and Rutland County, Vermont. He graduated from Albany Business College and worked for the Brandon National Bank and in other businesses before settling in Burlington.^[2] He was married to Mary C. (Alafat) Arthur (1904–2004), with whom he practiced law. They were the parents of a daughter, Portia.^[3]

Career

From 1927 to 1929 Arthur worked as an assistant to Governor John E. Weeks. From 1928 to 1940 he was associated with Warren R. Austin, working as a clerk and stenographer and then studying law in Austin's office. He obtained a law degree from La Salle Extension University, and then became an attorney in Burlington.^[4]

Arthur also worked for the Vermont House of Representatives for more than twenty years, rising to the position of chief clerk and parliamentarian, where he served from 1939 to 1949.^[5]

A member of the Vermont National Guard beginning in the 1920s, Arthur served in World War II and attained the rank of Major as a Judge Advocate General before retiring in 1964.^[6][7]

Arthur was the successful Republican candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 1948, and served from 1949 to 1950.^[8][9][10]

Arthur became Governor when Ernest W. Gibson, Jr. resigned to become a federal judge. He did not seek election to a full term in 1950, running unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives and losing the Republican primary to Winston L. Prouty, whom Arthur had defeated for the Lieutenant Governor nomination in 1948.^[11][12][13]

Governor Arthur ran again for Congress in 1958, winning the Republican nomination and losing the general election to William H. Meyer, who became the first Democratic candidate to win a statewide or national office in Vermont since the founding of the Republican Party in the 1850s.^[14][15]

Death and legacy

Arthur died of cancer at Plattsburgh Air Force Base Hospital on July 19, 1971.^[16] He was a Unitarian,^[17] and is interred at a mausoleum in Burlington's Lakeview Cemetery.^[18]

References

1. "Harold J. Arthur". National Governors Association. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
2. University of Vermont, Biography, Harold J. Arthur, Finding Aid, Harold J. Arthur Collection, accessed October 12, 2012
3. Times Argus (Barre, Vermont), Obituary, Mary C. Arthur, October 5, 2004
4. John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand, Ralph H. Orth (2003). The Vermont Encyclopedia. UPNE, ISBN 978-1-58465-086-7
5. Vermont House of Representatives, List of Clerks, Vermont House of Representatives, accessed October 12, 2012
6. J.T. White & Co., The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 57, 1977, page 135
7. New York Times, Gov. Arthur in Uniform; Joins Vermont National Guard in Training at Pine Camp, July 25, 1950
8. Christian Science Monitor, Governor Wins 2d Nomination In Vermont Vote, September 25, 1948
9. Kendall Wild, When GOP Ruled the Roost, Rutland Herald, November 16, 2006
10. New York Times, Prouty Is Vermont Victor, September 13, 1950
11. Christian Science Monitor, Two GOP Leaders Win Comeback in Vermont, September 13, 1950
12. New York Times, To Run for Governor; Attorney Seeks the Republican Nomination in Vermont, May 23, 1950
13. Christian Science Monitor, State of New England GOP Replays '48 Contest in Vermont, September 7, 1950
14. New York Times, Democrat Elected In Vermont Upset; Democrat Is Victor in Vermont, The First to Win in a Century, November 5, 1958
15. Los Angeles Times, 1st Democrat in 106 Years in Vermont, November 5, 1958
16. New York Times, Harold J. Arthur, 67, Dies; Once Governor of Vermont, July 20, 1971
17. Robert Sobel, John Raimo, Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Volume 4, 1978, page 1612
18. Marquis Who's Who, Who Was Who in American History -- The Military, 1975, page 17

External links

Harold J. Arthur at Find a Grave

• Inventory of the Harold J. Arthur Collection, Special Collections, University of Vermont Library
• The Political Graveyard
• National Governors Association