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Clarence Daniel Martin
Washington

Gov. Clarence Daniel Martin

  • January 9, 1933 - January 13, 1941
  • Democratic
  • June 29, 1884
  • August 11, 1955
  • Washington
  • University of Washington
  • Married Margaret Mulligan; three children

About

CLARENCE DANIEL MARTIN was born in Cheney, Washington and received a bachelor of arts degree in 1906. After his father’s death, he became president and general manager of the F.M. Martin Milling Company in Cheney. He served as Mayor of the city for three terms. He was elected governor in 1932 and reelected in 1936. During his administration, the Bonneville and Grand Coulee Dams were constructed, as were the Tacoma Narrows bridge and the Lake Washington floating bridge. Martin also established a State Planning Council and an Emergency Relief Administration, the latter of which became the state’s permanent welfare agency. He supported a graduated net income tax for the state, but was forced to support a sales tax in its place when it was ruled unconstitutional. After his second term ended, he returned to the milling business in Cheney and served on the Board of Directors of the Seattle First National Bank. He died in Cheney and was buried in Spokane.

Source

Official Records at Washington State Archives, 1932-1941, 34 cubic feet.

Other official records and private papers at Washington State University.

List of finding aids available at the Division of Archives and Records Management, Office of the Secretary of State. Available in hard copy: Guide to the Papers of the Governors of Washington, Volume 3: 1919-1957—Governor Hart through Governor Langlie.

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.

Washington Secretary of State

Washington State Library: Governors of Washington State

Recent Washington Governors