State Web Site

DAVID M. CLOUGH, the thirteenth governor of Minnesota, was born in Lyme, New Hampshire on December 27, 1846. His education was limited and attained in the common schools of his native state. After his family moved in 1855, he attended schools in Wisconsin and Minnesota. Clough and his brother established the successful Clough Brothers Company, a lumber business in Minneapolis. He first entered politics in 1883, serving as a member of the Minneapolis City Council, a position he held five years and in which he also served one-term as council president. Clough was a member of the Minnesota State Senate from 1887 to 1891, and served as the lieutenant governor of Minnesota from 1892 to 1895. On January 31, 1895, Governor Knute Nelson resigned from office, and Clough, who was the lieutenant governor at the time, assumed the duties of the governorship. He was elected to a term of his own on November 3, 1896. During his tenure, a board of pardons was created; child labor laws were advanced; the Red Lake Chippewa Indian Reservation was opened to settlement; and troops were organized for deployment in the Spanish-American War. After completing his term, Clough left office on January 2, 1899, and retired from political life. Governor David M. Clough passed away on August 28, 1924, and was buried in the Evergreen Cemetery in Everett, Washington.

Sources:

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 2, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Minnesota Historical Society

The Political Graveyard