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CHESTER H. ALDRICH, the seventeenth governor of Nebraska, was born near Pierpont, Ohio, on November 10, 1862. His education was attained at Hillsdale (Michigan) College, and at Ohio State University, where he graduated in 1888. After moving to Nebraska in 1888, Aldrich studied law and worked as a high school principal and livestock rancher. He first entered politics as a one-term member of the Nebraska State Senate, a position he won election to in 1906. Aldrich next secured the Republican gubernatorial nomination, and was elected governor by a popular vote in November 1910. During his tenure a comprehensive road program was initiated; a sanitary health bill was authorized; a co-operative association act was sanctioned; a telephone merger bill was vetoed; the submission of initiative and referendum to the voters was enacted; and a state board of control for state institutions was established. After running unsuccessfully for reelection, Aldrich returned to his legal career. From 1918 to 1924 he served as an associate justice of the Nebraska State Supreme Court. Governor Chester H. Aldrich passed away on March 10, 1924, and was buried in the Ulysses Cemetery in Ulysses, Nebraska.

Sources:

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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