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Military Service: Navy

War(s) Served:  World War II

Born in Egypt, Massachusetts, THOMAS LAWSON MC CALL received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Oregon in 1936 and was a U.S. Navy Combat Correspondent in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He served as Administrative Assistant to Oregon Governor Douglas McKay from 1949 to 1952 and went on to pursue a career as a journalist and political analyst. McCall became Secretary of State in 1965, serving until the following year, when he won election as governor. One of his first actions as governor was to declare himself Chairman of the State Sanitary Authority, which empowered him to clean pollution from the Willamette River, an objective that was achieved within two years. McCall continued his focus on ecology and created the State Office of Energy Research and Planning to identify new sources of energy and ways to conserve existing energy. After serving two terms as governor, McCall returned to private life and became professor of journalism at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

SOURCES:

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

Oregon State Archives

Who's Who in America, Vol. VIII. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who, 1985.