George White (Ohio politician)

{{Infobox officeholder

|name=George White

|image=George White (Ohio).png

|order1=52nd Governor of Ohio

|lieutenant1= William G. Pickrel
Charles W. Sawyer

|term_start1= January 12, 1931

|term_end1= January 14, 1935

|preceded1= Myers Y. Cooper

|succeeded1= Martin L. Davey

|state2=Ohio

|district2=15th

|term_start2=March 4, 1911

|term_end2=March 3, 1915

|preceded2=James Joyce

|succeeded2=William C. Mooney

|term_start3=March 4, 1917

|term_end3=March 3, 1919

|preceded3=William C. Mooney

|succeeded3=C. Ellis Moore

|birth_date={{birth date|1872|8|21}}

|birth_place=Elmira, New York, U.S.

|death_date={{death date and age|1953|12|15|1872|8|21}}

|death_place=West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.

|party=Democratic

|spouse=Charlotte McKelvy

|children=5

|education=Princeton College

}}

George White (August 21, 1872 – December 15, 1953) was an American Democratic Party politician who served as the 52nd governor of Ohio.

Early life and education

George White was born on August 21, 1872, in Elmira, New York. He was the son of Charles W. and Mary S. (Back) White. He attended Princeton College in Princeton, New Jersey.

Career

After mining in the Klondike, Yukon, he settled in Marietta, Ohio, to drill for oil.

After serving in the Ohio House of Representatives from 1905 to 1908, White was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1910, serving from 1911 to 1915. White lost a re-election bid in 1914, but won election again in 1916{{spaced ndash}}though he then lost again in 1918. White served as Chairman of the Democratic National Committee from 1920 to 1921.

He then returned to politics again in 1930, serving two two-year terms as governor from 1931 to 1935. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1934.{{cite web |url=https://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=18788 |title = Our Campaigns - Candidate - George White}} In 1940, White ran again for the Democratic nomination for governor but lost to Martin L. Davey.

In 1936, White was influential in securing the agreement of sculptor Gutzon Borglum to create the National Start Westward Memorial of The United States,, which was completed in 1938.{{cite web |title=The Memorial |url=https://www.startwestward1787.com/memorial |publisher=Start Westward Memorial Society |access-date=12 November 2022}}

Personal life

He married Charlotte McKelvy of Titusville, Pennsylvania, on September 25, 1900,{{cite book |title=The Democratic party of the state of Ohio: a comprehensive history |volume= 2 |editor-first=Thomas Edward |editor-last=Powell |editor-link=Thomas E. Powell|publisher=The Ohio Publishing Company |year=1913 |pages=443, 444 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QItLcC2wKwIC&pg=PA444}} and had five children.{{cite book |title=History of Ohio |last=Galbreath |first=Charles Burleigh |author-link=Charles Burleigh Galbreath |year=1925 |publisher=The American Historical Society |location=Chicago |page=47 |volume=IV |isbn=978-0-7812-5367-3}}

He died at West Palm Beach, Florida, December 15, 1953, and is buried at Oak Grove Cemetery in Marietta.