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ROSWELL K. COLCORD, the seventh governor of Nevada, was born in Searsport, Maine on April 25, 1839. His education was attained in the Maine public school system, where he completed a mechanical engineering program. He established a successful career in engineering, which eventually brought him to Nevada around 1863. Colcord first entered public service as a state commissioner to the 1889 Paris Exposition. He next secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote in 1890. During his tenure, a state board of health was established; the Australian ballot system was launched; economic programs were instituted; a first state board of equalization was authorized; the University of Nevada initiated a mechanical engineering department; and women's voting rights were lobbied for. After retiring from the governorship, Colcord secured an appointment as superintendent of the U.S. Mint, a post he held in Carson City from 1898 to 1911. Governor Roswell K. Colcord passed away on October 30, 1939, and was buried in the Lone Mountain Cemetery in Carson City, Nevada.

Sources:

Nevada State Archives: Roswell Keyes Colcord 1891-1895

Nevada State Library and Archives: Nevada Governors' Biographical Information

The Political Graveyard

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 3, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

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