Seattle Mayor, Washington Governor. Born in Lanesboro, Minnesota of Norwegian ancestry, he moved to Washington state with his parents at the age of nine. A graduate of the University of Washington, he spent his college years working in the wheat fields of Eastern Washington, and logging camps located on the west side of the Cascades to pay for his education. Following graduation from law school in 1925, he spent the next decade practicing law in Seattle before becoming interested in local politics. In 1935 he won a seat on the Seattle City Council pledging to fight political corruption and the radical interests and influence of organized labor. Following an unsuccessful attempt to defeat incumbent mayor John Francis Dore in 1936, he defeated political rival Vic Meyers in a landslide victory to win the 1938 election for Seattle mayor. As mayor he was credited with putting the city's finances in order, increasing city revenues, decreasing labor unrest, overhauling the city's transportation system and repairing and creating new city infrastructure. He resigned his office as Seattle mayor part way through his second term after defeating Clarence C. Dill in the 1940 race for governor, becoming the first and only Seattle mayor in state history to reach the state's highest executive office. His first term in office was dominated by America's entry into the Second World War, and the relocation of Japanese-Americans citizens into internment camps, a policy he openly supported and advocated. Failing to win re-election in 1944, he was re-elected to two successive terms as governor in 1948 and 1952. Considered one of the rising stars in Republican politics, he served as the keynote speaker at the 1952 Republican National Convention, and as chairman of the National Governor's Conference in 1955 and 1956. He was featured on the September 3rd cover of "Time" magazine as a Republican Party hopeful for national office. Running on the slogan of "High Office Demands High Principles" in 1956, he challenged powerful Democratic incumbent Warren G. Magnuson for a seat in the United States Senate. After failing to unseat Magnuson in the 1956 general election, he moved to New York City where he became the corporate executive officer (CEO) and president of the McCall Publishing Company, and chairman of the McCall's board of directors. He returned to Seattle in 1964 in declining health, suffering from advanced heart disease. He died in Seattle one day shy of his 66th birthday.