Governor of Kentucky. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 40th Governor of Kentucky from December 1919 until December 1923. A twin who were the youngest of eight children, his father was one of the founders of the Republican Party in Kentucky. After completing his early education, he attended St. Mary's Preparatory College near Lebanon, Kentucky and two years later he enrolled at Cumberland College (now University of the Cumberlands) in Williamsburg, Kentucky. In June 1898 he enlisted in the 4th Kentucky Infantry Regiment during the Spanish-American War but never saw combat and was discharged the following year at the rank of 2nd lieutenant. In 1900 he enrolled at the University of Cincinnati Law School in Cincinnati, Ohio, graduated with a Bachelor of laws Degree in 1902 and opened a law office in Lexington, Kentucky. In 1904 he moved to Somerset, Kentucky and was appointed the city's attorney. From 1910 until 1913 he was the US District Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky. In 1912 he ran as a Republican for the US Senate and lost, and three years later he ran as the Republican candidate for Governor of Kentucky and lost by less than 500 votes. In November 1919 he ran again for governor and won. Shortly after taking office, he ratified the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution that prohibits anyone from being denied the right to vote based on sex. In February 1920 he prevented the lynching of a black prisoner for which he received national acclaim, and occasionally removed local officials who did nothing to prevent or quell mob violence. After leaving office in 1923, he returned to Somerset where he served on the US Railroad Labor Board and later the Railway Mediation Board. He died from a sudden heart attack at the age of 57.
