State Web Site

Higher Office(s) Served: Representative, Senator

Military Service: Army

War(s) Served:  World War II

Honors/Awards:  Legion of Merit, Bronze Star, Croix de Guerre

JAMES CALEB BOGGS was born in Cheswold, Delaware, on May 15, 1909. In 1931 he graduated from the University of Delaware, and in 1937 he earned a law degree from Georgetown University. He was admitted to the bar in 1938, and established a private practice in Dover. He also was permitted to practice before the Delaware Supreme Court, as well as, the U.S. Supreme Court. During World War II, he served in the U.S. Army as colonel of the 6th Armored Cavalry, 3rd Army. After his discharge in 1946, he was awarded the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, and the Croix de Guerre. Boggs entered public service in 1946, as deputy judge of the Family Court of New Castle County. He also served as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1947 to 1953. He won the 1952 Republican gubernatorial nomination and was elected the 54th Governor of Delaware. He was reelected to a second term in 1956. During his tenure, he restructured governmental agencies, was a proponent of the municipal home rule, and endorsed the merging of school districts and the raising of teachers' salaries. He also dealt with the volatile issue of school desegregation during his term. Governor Boggs resigned from the governor's office on December 30, 1960, to take his seat in the U.S. Senate. He served in the senate until 1973, and then returned to his law practice. Governor James C. Boggs died on March 26, 1993, and is buried at the Old Presbyterian Church Cemetery in Dover, Delaware.

Sources:

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 1, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

Delaware's Governors

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress