Cal Rampton

He was born to Llewellyn Smith Rampton and Janet Campbell in Bountiful, Utah. Following his graduation from Davis High School in 1931, Rampton took over his family's automobile business, due to his father's death that same year. He sold the business in 1933 and entered the University of Utah, graduating in 1936. He also studied at the George Washington University Law School while working as administrative assistant to Congressman J. W. Robinson.[1]

Rampton served as Davis County Attorney from 1938 to 1940, the only other public office he would be elected to until becoming governor in 1965.

Rampton served in Europe during World War II as Chief of the Army Claims Commission in Paris; he attained the rank of major and received the Bronze Star Medal. Rampton continued to serve in the Army Reserve and attained the rank of colonel before retiring. After the war he pursued a career as an attorney and his success in civil trial practice earned him a fellowship with the International Academy of Trial Lawyers. He was a Democratic candidate for the Utah State Senate in 1954 and United States Senate in 1962.

He is the only governor of Utah to serve three full consecutive terms,[1] and was one of the most popular governors in the country. During his governorship, he successfully advocated for increased education spending, civil rights legislation, and allocating federal funds for urban renewal. He was a supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and advocated successfully for state construction projects, including Salt Lake City’s Symphony Hall (now Abravanel Hall) and the Salt Lake Arts Center (now Utah Museum of Contemporary Art).

After leaving office, Rampton practiced law until he retired at the age of 75.

Rampton married Lucybeth Cardon (1914–2004) on March 10, 1940; they had four children.

In 2007, Rampton died of cancer in Holladay, Utah. Shortly after his death, the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City was also named in his honor. The Calvin L. Rampton Complex in Taylorsville, which houses the Utah Department of Transportation and the Utah Department of Public Safety, is also named in his honor.

In the made-for-television movie The Executioner's Song (film), Rampton is referenced in a recreated radio news clip as having requested the Utah Board of Pardons to review convicted murderer Gary Gilmore's execution just before the end of his final term. Rampton's successor Scott M. Matheson declined to get involved in the matter, and the execution was soon carried out.

• Cal Rampton: Former three-term governor dies at 93
• Utah History Research Center
• An Interview with Former Gov. Rampton