20th California Governor. He served as Governor of California from 1899 to 1903. Born in Geneva, New York, he moved to California in 1874 and began practicing law in Los Angeles in 1877. He was elected Los Angeles City Attorney in 1881 and was a delegate to the 1888 Republican National Convention in Chicago. As a lawyer Gage represented Collis P. Huntington, owner of the Southern Pacific Railroad, who helped bankroll his successful 1898 gubernatorial campaign so he could pass legislation favorable to the company. Gage's single term as Governor was marred by controversy. He "mediated" a major dock workers' strike by threatening to declare martial law if the union did not cave to management's demands, and denied the existence of a bubonic plague outbreak in San Francisco until the problem threatened to become epidemic. When the Hearst newspapers published a cartoon showing Gage being lead on a leash by big business interests, the Governor pushed through a bill restricting journalistic attacks on state politicians. He did not seek a second term and was succeeded in office by a more moderate Republican, George Pardee. In 1909, President William Howard Taft appointed Gage US Minister to Portugal. He resigned two years later, citing his wife's health, and returned to his law practice in Los Angeles. Gage was originally interred in the crypt beneath the All Souls Chapel at Calvary Cemetery. In the late 1930s he was transferred to the basement level of the newly completed Calvary Mausoleum.
20th California Governor. He served as Governor of California from 1899 to 1903. Born in Geneva, New York, he moved to California in 1874 and began practicing law in Los Angeles in 1877. He was elected Los Angeles City Attorney in 1881 and was a delegate to the 1888 Republican National Convention in Chicago. As a lawyer Gage represented Collis P. Huntington, owner of the Southern Pacific Railroad, who helped bankroll his successful 1898 gubernatorial campaign so he could pass legislation favorable to the company. Gage's single term as Governor was marred by controversy. He "mediated" a major dock workers' strike by threatening to declare martial law if the union did not cave to management's demands, and denied the existence of a bubonic plague outbreak in San Francisco until the problem threatened to become epidemic. When the Hearst newspapers published a cartoon showing Gage being lead on a leash by big business interests, the Governor pushed through a bill restricting journalistic attacks on state politicians. He did not seek a second term and was succeeded in office by a more moderate Republican, George Pardee. In 1909, President William Howard Taft appointed Gage US Minister to Portugal. He resigned two years later, citing his wife's health, and returned to his law practice in Los Angeles. Gage was originally interred in the crypt beneath the All Souls Chapel at Calvary Cemetery. In the late 1930s he was transferred to the basement level of the newly completed Calvary Mausoleum.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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