Harold John Arthur (February 9, 1904 – July 19, 1971) was an American politician who served as 68th governor of Vermont from 1950 to 1951. He also served as the 64th lieutenant governor of Vermont from 1949 to 1950.
Early life, education, and family Arthur was born in Whitehall, New York, on February 9, 1904, and raised in Addison County and Rutland County, Vermont. He graduated from Albany Business College and worked for the Brandon National Bank and in other businesses before settling in Burlington.University of Vermont, Biography, Harold J. Arthur, Finding Aid, Harold J. Arthur Collection, accessed October 12, 2012 He was married to Mary C. (Alafat) Arthur, with whom he practiced law. They were the parents of a daughter, Portia.Times Argus (Barre, Vermont), Obituary, Mary C. Arthur, October 5, 2004
Career From 1927 to 1929, Arthur worked as an assistant to Governor John E. Weeks. From 1928 to 1940 he was associated with Warren R. Austin, working as a clerk and stenographer and then studying law in Austin's office. He obtained a law degree from La Salle Extension University, and then became an attorney in Burlington.John J. Duffy, Samuel B. Hand, Ralph H. Orth (2003). The Vermont Encyclopedia. UPNE,
Arthur also worked for the Vermont House of Representatives for more than twenty years, rising to the position of chief clerk and parliamentarian, where he served from 1939 to 1949.Vermont House of Representatives, List of Clerks, Vermont House of Representatives, accessed October 12, 2012 He was Clerk of the House from 1939 to 1943, and again from 1947 to 1949; during his World War II military service, the position was held by Clifton G. Parker.
A member of the Vermont National Guard beginning in 1928, Arthur served in World War II and attained the rank of lieutenant colonel as a Judge Advocate General before retiring in 1959.J.T. White & Co., The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Volume 57, 1977, page 135New York Times, Gov. Arthur in Uniform; Joins Vermont National Guard in Training at Pine Camp, July 25, 1950
Arthur was the successful Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in 1948, and served from 1949 to 1950.Christian Science Monitor, , September 25, 1948Kendall Wild, When GOP Ruled the Roost, Rutland Herald, November 16, 2006New York Times, Prouty Is Vermont Victor, September 13, 1950
Arthur became governor when Ernest W. Gibson Jr. resigned to become a federal judge. He did not seek election to a full term in 1950, running unsuccessfully for the United States House of Representatives and losing the Republican primary to Winston L. Prouty, whom Arthur had defeated for the lieutenant governor nomination in 1948.Christian Science Monitor, , September 13, 1950New York Times, To Run for Governor; Attorney Seeks the Republican Nomination in Vermont, May 23, 1950Christian Science Monitor, , September 7, 1950
In 1954, Arthur ran unsuccessfully to be the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, losing the primary to Consuelo N. Bailey. Governor Arthur ran again for Congress in 1958, winning the Republican nomination and losing the general election to William H. Meyer, who became the first Democratic candidate to win a statewide or national office in Vermont since the founding of the Republican Party in the 1850s.New York Times, Democrat Elected In Vermont Upset; Democrat Is Victor in Vermont, The First to Win in a Century, November 5, 1958Los Angeles Times, , November 5, 1958
Death and legacy Arthur died of cancer at Plattsburgh Air Force Base Hospital on July 19, 1971.New York Times, Harold J. Arthur, 67, Dies; Once Governor of Vermont, July 20, 1971 He was a Unitarian,Robert Sobel, John Raimo, Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Volume 4, 1978, page 1612 and is interred in a mausoleum at Burlington's Lakeview Cemetery.Marquis Who's Who, Who Was Who in American History -- The Military, 1975, page 17
See also List of members of the American Legion
References
External links
The Political Graveyard National Governors Association