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Phillips Lee Goldsborough

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Phillips Lee Goldsborough
47th Governor of Maryland
In office
January 10, 1912 – January 12, 1916
Preceded byAustin L. Crothers
Succeeded byEmerson C. Harrington
United States Senator
from Maryland
In office
March 4, 1929 – January 3, 1935
Preceded byWilliam Cabell Bruce
Succeeded byGeorge L. P. Radcliffe
17th Comptroller of Maryland
In office
1898–1900
GovernorLloyd Lowndes Jr.
Preceded byRobert Patterson Graham
Succeeded byJoshua W. Hering
State's Attorney for Dorchester County
In office
1891–1898
Personal details
Born(1865-08-06)August 6, 1865
Princess Anne, Maryland, U.S.
DiedOctober 22, 1946(1946-10-22) (aged 81)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Resting placeChrist Episcopal Church
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Ellen Showell
(m. 1893; died 1930)
Children3

Phillips Lee Goldsborough I (August 6, 1865 – October 22, 1946), was an American Republican politician who was the 47th Governor of Maryland from 1912 to 1916 and represented the state in the United States Senate from 1929 to 1935. He was also Comptroller of the Maryland Treasury from 1898 to 1900.[1][2] To date, he is the last Republican to serve as Comptroller of Maryland.

Early life and career

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Goldsborough was born in Princess Anne, Maryland and was educated in public and private schools, including Episcopal High School.[3] While working as a clerk for the United States Navy, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1886, commencing practice in Cambridge, Maryland soon thereafter. He also held an interest in banking. In 1893 he married Mary Ellen Showell (c. 1865 – 1930) and they had two sons: Brice W. Goldsborough and Phillips Lee Goldsborough II.

In 1891 and in 1895, Goldsborough was elected state's attorney for Dorchester County, Maryland. In 1897, he was elected to the position of comptroller of the treasury of Maryland, but was defeated for reelection in 1899 by Dr. Joshua W. Hering. As of 2024, he is the last Republican to have served as Maryland Comptroller.

He was appointed collector of internal revenue for the district of Maryland in 1902 by President Theodore Roosevelt and later by President William Howard Taft.

Governor of Maryland

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Goldsborough built a large base of support in the state, which encouraged him to run for Governor of Maryland in 1911. He defeated Democratic challenger Arthur Pue Gorman Jr., becoming only the second Republican governor in state history up to that time. Goldsborough won in part due to the support of African Americans, with the disenfranchising Digges Amendment being concurrently defeated.[4]

Goldsborough's tenure as governor achieved education reform, including the appointment of school boards and teacher certification. It was also during his tenure that the state purchased Maryland Agricultural College, now the University of Maryland, College Park.[5]

Goldsborough

United States Senate

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Goldsborough sought the Republican nomination for the Class I U.S. Senate seat from Maryland in 1916, but was defeated in the Republican primary by Joseph I. France. He left politics afterwards and resumed his law practice in Cambridge, and also became president of the National Union Bank.

When Republican Herbert Hoover was elected President of the United States, Goldsborough again sought the same senate seat in Maryland. He was elected to the United States Senate in the election of 1928, defeating incumbent William Cabell Bruce.

Later career and death

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In 1934, he was not a candidate for re-election to the senate, but instead ran again for Governor of Maryland. He lost in the Republican primary to Harry W. Nice, who went on to win the general election.

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt appointed Goldsborough to the director's board of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1935. He served in that position until he died in 1946 in Baltimore, Maryland, and is buried in the old churchyard of Christ Episcopal Church of his hometown of Cambridge.

References

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  1. ^ "Phillips Lee Goldsborough (1865–1946) Biographical Series; Governor of Maryland 1912–1916, U.S. Senator 1929–1935 (Republican)". Archives of Maryland, MSA SC 3520-1478. Maryland State Government. August 10, 2001. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  2. ^ White, Jr., Frank F. (1970). The Governors of Maryland 1777–1970. Annapolis: The Hall of Records Commission. pp. 245–248. ISBN 978-0942370010. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  3. ^ Kinsolving, Arthur Barksdale (1922). The Story of a Southern School. The Norman, Remington Co. p. 122. Retrieved October 20, 2023 – via Archive.org.Open access icon
  4. ^ Tuck, Stephen (Spring 2013). "Democratization and the Disfranchisement of African Americans in the US South during the Late 19th Century" (PDF). Reading for "Challenges of Democratization". Archived from the original (PDF) on February 23, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2014 – via Brandon Kendhammer, Ohio University.
  5. ^ "Phillips Lee Goldsborough (1865-1946)". Archives of Maryland. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
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Party political offices
Preceded by
George R. Gaither, Jr.
Republican nominee for Governor of Maryland
1911
Succeeded by
Preceded by Republican nominee for U.S. Senator from Maryland
(Class 1)

1928
Succeeded by
Joseph I. France
Political offices
Preceded by Comptroller of Maryland
1898–1900
Succeeded by
Preceded by Governor of Maryland
1912–1916
Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 1) from Maryland
1929–1935
Served alongside: Millard Tydings
Succeeded by