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ALBERT C. RITCHIE was born in Richmond, Virginia on August 29, 1876. His education was attained at private schools, at Johns Hopkins University, from which he graduated in 1896, and at the University of Maryland, from which he earned a law degree in 1898. Ritchie served as an assistant city solicitor for the city of Baltimore from 1903 to 1910. He also served for two years as the assistant general counsel on the Public Service Commission, and was the attorney general of Maryland from 1915 to 1919. Ritchie secured the 1919 Democratic gubernatorial nomination, and then went on to win election to the Maryland governorship on November 4, 1919. He was reelected to a second term in 1923, to a third term in 1926, and to a fourth term in 1930. During his tenure, the state's roads and highway system was improved; a workmen's compensation law sanctioned; state government was restructured; the public school system was improved; the state's agriculture was promoted; the state's sales tax was reduced; and a teacher's retirement fund was established. Also, election reform measures were instituted. Ritchie was often mentioned as a possible candidate for president. After running unsuccessfully for reelection, Ritchie left office on January 9, 1935 and retired from politics, returning to the practice of law. Governor Albert C. Ritchie passed away on February 24, 1936, and was buried in Greenmount Cemetery in Baltimore, Maryland.

Sources:

Eisenberg, Gerson G. Marylanders Who Served the Nation. Annapolis, MD: Maryland State Archives, 1992.

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.

White, Frank F., Jr. The Governors of Maryland, 1777-1972. Annapolis, MD: Hall of Records Commission, 1970.

Maryland State Archives

Papers of Albert Cabell Ritchie (Archives UM: Encoded Archival Description at the University of Maryland)