Walter Samuel Goodland

Walter Samuel Goodland (December 22, 1862 – March 12, 1947) was an American lawyer and politician and the 31st Governor of Wisconsin. He was a member of the Republican Party and attended Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Walter S. Goodland
31st Governor of Wisconsin
In office
January 4, 1943 – March 12, 1947
LieutenantOscar Rennebohm
Preceded byOrland Steen Loomis (elect)
Succeeded byOscar Rennebohm
29th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin
In office
January 2, 1939 – January 4, 1943
GovernorJulius P. Heil
Preceded byHerman L. Ekern
Succeeded byOscar Rennebohm
Member of the Wisconsin Senate
from the 21st district
In office
January 1, 1927 – January 1, 1935
Preceded byMax W. Heck
Succeeded byJoseph Clancy
40th Mayor of Racine, Wisconsin
In office
April 1911 – April 1915
Preceded byAlex J. Horlick
Succeeded byT. W. Thiesen
Personal details
Born
Walter Samuel Goodland

(1862-12-22)December 22, 1862
Sharon, Wisconsin, US
DiedMarch 12, 1947(1947-03-12) (aged 84)
Madison, Wisconsin, US
Resting placeGraceland Cemetery, Racine, Wisconsin
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
  • Christina Lewis
  • (m. 1883; died 1896)
  • Anne M. Lewis
  • (m. 1898; died 1930)
  • Margaret Roche
  • (m. 1933)
Children2
Alma materLawrence University

Biography

Goodland, born in Sharon, Wisconsin, was a lawyer and newspaper owner; he had owned a newspaper in Michigan in Iron Mountain. Goodland spent time on the Gogebic Range as a young man. He came to the range and began practicing law in Wakefield, Michigan. There he began the Wakefield Bulletin, one of the early daily newspapers of the range. Later, he established the Ironwood Times, disposing of it in May 1895 to Bennett and Green. The Ironwood Times continued to publish until May 1946. Goodland served in the Wisconsin State Senate. From 1911 to 1915, he was mayor of Racine, Wisconsin. From 1939 to 1943, Walter Goodland was the 29th Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin.

In 1942, he was reelected lieutenant governor. On December 7, 1942, Governor-elect Orland Steen Loomis died before his inaugural. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Lieutenant Governor Goodland would serve Orland Loomis's term as governor, overriding the view of Governor Julius Heil that he should continue in office. Goodland was initially paid as the Lieutenant Governor, with a salary of $1,500 a year. He earned a six dollar daily bonus for being governor while the legislature was in session, and a five dollar daily bonus when it was not.[1]

In 1944, Walter Goodland was elected Governor of Wisconsin in his own right, and in 1946 he was reelected. Walter Goodland died of a heart attack on Wednesday, March 12, 1947, while in office in Madison, Wisconsin, at age 84.[2][3]

At the time of his death, Goodland was the oldest individual to have served as governor of any state in the union.[2] He also had the distinction of both assuming and relinquishing the office of governor due to a death, the death of Loomis and his own.[4]

Honors

References
  1. "Goodland Governor By Wisconsin Ruling; Court Holds Lieutenant Governor Must Fill Death Vacancy". New York Times. December 30, 1942. p. E10.
  2. "Goodland Dies of Heart Attack at 84, Rennebohm Named Acting Governor". Wisconsin State Journal. March 13, 1947. p. 11. Retrieved August 18, 2019 – via Newspapers.com. open access
  3. "WISCONSIN: Tough Old Codger". Time. March 24, 1947. Archived from the original on February 3, 2011.
  4. "Walter S. Goodland". Wisconsin Blue Book. 1960.
  5. "Lake Waubesa Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-06-21.
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