Albert E. Mead Explained

Albert Edward Mead
Order1:5th Governor of Washington
Lieutenant1:Charles E. Coon
Term Start1:January 11, 1905
Term End1:January 27, 1909
State House2:Washington
District2:48th
Term Start2:January 9, 1893
Term End2:January 14, 1895
Predecessor2:A. W. Tiffany
Successor2:R. J. Glen
Birth Name:Albert Edward Mead
Birth Date:14 December 1861
Birth Place:Manhattan, Kansas, U.S.
Death Place:Bellingham, Washington, U.S.
Spouse:Lizzie Brown (1887–1898)
Mina Jane Hosmer Pifer (1899–1913)
Party:Republican
Predecessor1:Henry McBride
Successor1:Samuel G. Cosgrove

Albert Edward Mead (December 14, 1861 – March 19, 1913) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the fifth governor of Washington from 1905 to 1909.[1]

Biography

Mead was born in Kansas on December 14, 1861. There is conflicting information about his town of birth: most reliable sources say it was Manhattan, Kansas, but there is one claim he was born in Ashland, Kansas.[1] [2] He received his formal education at Southern Illinois Normal University and at Northwestern University's Union College of Law in Chicago.[2]

Career

After graduating from law school in 1885, Mead returned to Kansas to practice law for four years. He married Elizabeth "Lizzy" Pauline Brown and they had one daughter, Mary; and three sons, Wendell, Roland, and William.[3] In 1889, he moved to Washington Territory. Mead served as Mayor of Blaine, Washington (1892), as a member of the Washington State House of Representatives (1892), and as prosecuting attorney for Whatcom County, Washington from 1898 to 1903. His wife, "Lizzy", died in 1898, and on May 5, 1899, he married Mina Jane Hosmer Pifer, and they had one son, Albert Vincent.

Mead's election to the governor's office in 1904 over U.S. Senator George Turner was considered a significant upset at the time.[4] During his tenure, he supported legislation establishing a Railroad Commission, and acts establishing a State Bank Examiner, a State Tax Commission, and a State Highway Commission.[5]

After his term as governor ended, Mead moved to Bellingham, Washington, where he returned to private practice as a lawyer and served as president of the Chamber of Commerce.[1]

Death

Mead died in Bellingham on March 19, 1913, and is interred at Bayview Cemetery.[6]

Further reading

External links

Notes and References

  1. Book: Washington State Bar Association . Proceedings of the 25th Annual Convention . The Association . 1913 . 181 .
  2. Web site: Washington State Library Biography . 2011-04-29 . https://web.archive.org/web/20110721072659/http://content.statelib.wa.gov/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=%2Fgovernors&CISOPTR=39&CISOBOX=1&REC=8 . July 21, 2011 . dead .
  3. Web site: Albert E. Mead. Washington Secretary of State. 11 October 2012. December 8, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191208193831/https://www.sos.wa.gov/office/404.aspx?aspxerrorpath=/legacyproject/historymakersdetail.aspx. dead.
  4. News: Ex-Senator Turner Beaten . The New York Times . November 10, 1904 . 2011-04-29.
  5. Web site: Albert E. Mead. National Governors Association. 11 October 2012.
  6. News: Albert E. Mead Dies Suddenly . . Bellingham . 2 . 1913-03-20 . 2020-04-05 . Newspapers.com.