K. Berry Peterson Explained

Order:5th
Office:Arizona Attorney General
Term Start:1928
Term End:1933
Governor:George W. P. Hunt
Predecessor:John W. Murphy
Successor:Arthur T. LaPrade
Office3:County Attorney of Pima County
Term Start3:1922
Term End3:1926
Predecessor3:George R. Darnell
Successor3:Louis R. Kempf
Birth Date:July 24, 1891
Birth Place:Alamo, Indiana, US
Death Date:1952
Death Place:Tucson, Arizona, US
Profession:Attorney
Party:Democratic

K. Berry Peterson (July 24, 1891 – 1952) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as Attorney General of Arizona from 1928 to 1933.

Life and career

Peterson was born in Montgomery County, Indiana in 1891, the son of Hannah N. Duckworth (born 1868) and Dr. Charles Arthur Peterson (1867-1928). Peterson earned his Bachelor’s degree in 1913 from the University of Oklahoma when he was 22 years old. He served in the Army during the First World War as a 1st Lieutenant of Cavalry. After the war, he attended law school at the University of Arizona, graduating in 1920.[1]

In 1922, Peterson was elected Pima County Attorney. He was then Attorney General from 1929 to 1933.[2] [3] As Attorney General, Peterson filed suit against California for rights to the Colorado River and leading to numerous United States Supreme Court decisions in Arizona v. California.[4] In 1932, he unsuccessfully ran for the Democratic nomination for Arizona governor against Benjamin Baker Moeur. Later, Peterson was appointed an assistant U.S. Attorney for Arizona.

References

  1. https://www.pcao.pima.gov/100years.aspx Pima County
  2. http://www.ancestry.com/1940-census/usa/Arizona/K-Berry-Peterson_2rkwwl K. Berry Peterson
  3. http://www.ourcampaigns.com/CandidateDetail.html?CandidateID=105098 K. Berry Peterson
  4. https://books.google.com/books?id=YUxmQNo9RX8C&dq=K.+Berry+Peterson&pg=PP65 Dividing Western Waters:

Further reading