Evan Dhu Cameron

{{Short description|American politician and educator (1862–1923)}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Evan Dhu Cameron

| honorific_suffix =

| image = Evan Dhu Cameron.jpg

| caption =

| office = 1st Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction

| term_start = November 16, 1907

| term_end = November 16, 1911

| governor = Charles N. Haskell

| predecessor = Position established

| successor = R. H. Wilson

| office2 = President of the Baptist General Convention of Indian Territory

| term_start2 = 1904

| term_end2 = 1905

| predecessor2 =

| successor2 =

| office3 = Oklahoma Territory Superintendent of Public Instruction

| term_start3 = 1894

| term_end3 = 1896

| governor3 = William Cary Renfrow

| predecessor3 =

| successor3 =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1862|2|26}}

| birth_place = Richmond County, North Carolina, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1923|7|29|1862|2|26}}

| death_place = Tahlequah, Oklahoma, U.S.

| resting_place = Okmulgee, Oklahoma

| party = Democratic Party

| spouse = Clara Williams

| education = Trinity College
Dick and Dillard School of Law

}}

Evan Dhu Cameron was an American politician and educator who served as the first Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1907 to 1911 and as the Oklahoma Territory Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1894 to 1897.

Early life, education, and early career

Evan Dhu Cameron was born on February 26, 1862, to Caroline Crawford and John Worth Cameron in Richmond County, North Carolina as the youngest of seven children. His family was descended from Scottish immigrants. His father was a lawyer, editor, and former military officer.{{cite web |title=Evan Dhu Cameron |url=https://www.cameron.edu/info/edcameron |website=cameron.edu |publisher=Cameron University |access-date=24 September 2023}} He attended school in Richmond, North Carolina, later attended Trinity College, and graduated from the Dick and Dillard School of Law in 1881. He practiced law for seven years in North Carolina. In 1888 he was licensed by the Methodist Episcopal Church. He worked as a pastor in Texas before moving to Oklahoma Territory in 1891. He married Clara Williams in 1890. In 1901 he switched denominations and joined the Southern Baptist Convention.{{cite web |last1=Everett |first1=Dianna |title=Cameron, Evan Dhu |url=https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry?entry=CA080 |website=okhistory.org |publisher=The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture |access-date=24 September 2023}} He was the president of the Baptist General Convention of Indian Territory from 1904 to 1905.

Political career

From 1894 to 1896 Cameron served as the Superintendent of Public Instruction, president of the Board of Education, territorial auditor, and president of the board of health for Oklahoma Territory. In 1907, he was elected for one term as Oklahoma's first Superintendent of Public Instruction as a member of the Democratic Party, serving until 1911. During his tenure he is credited for organizing schools from the former Oklahoma Territory and Indian Territory into one unified education system and implementing the first uniform textbook law in the state. Between 1907 and 1908, over 2,200 new public schools were opened in rural Oklahoma.

Later life, death, and legacy

In 1908, Cameron University in Lawton, Oklahoma was named after him. Cameron helped found Oklahoma Baptist University in 1911 and received an honorary degree from there in 1915. He unsuccessfully ran for Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma in 1922. He was also a Freemason. Cameron died on July 29, 1923, of a stroke in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. He is buried in Okmulgee, Oklahoma

Electoral history

{{Election box begin | title=1907 Oklahoma State Superintendent election{{cite web |title=1907-1912 Results |url=https://oklahoma.gov/content/dam/ok/en/elections/election-results/results-prior-to-1980/1907-1912-results.pdf |website=oklahoma.gov |publisher=Oklahoma State Election Board |access-date=23 September 2023}}}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link|

|party = Democratic Party (United States)

|candidate = Evan Dhu Cameron

|votes = 132,962

|percentage = 54.8

|change = New

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link|

|party = Republican Party (United States)

|candidate = Calvin Ballard

|votes = 99,912

|percentage = 41.1