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Military Service: National Guard

War(s) Served:  World War I

A native of Taylor, Texas, DANIEL J. MOODY attended the University of Texas from 1910 to 1914 and went on to serve in the Texas National Guard during World War I. He was Williamson County Attorney from 1921 to 1922 and District Attorney of the Twenty-sixth and Fifty-third Judicial Districts from 1922 to 1925. He served as Texas Attorney General before being elected governor after winning two primaries, the first by a plurality, which was insufficient to secure the Democratic nomination, and the second by the required majority. The youngest person to have held the office of governor, Moody reorganized state prison management and the state highway system. In addition, the office of State Auditor and the process of auditing state accounts were established during his administration. After leaving office, Moody returned to the practice of law. He went on to serve as a special assistant to the U.S. Attorney General in the mid-1930s and mount an unsuccessful campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in 1942. Moody was buried in the State Cemetery in Austin.

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.

The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, Vol. 53. New York: James T. White & Company.

Texas State Library & Archives Commission

Governors of Texas, 1846-present