James P. Goodrich

Infobox Politician
name James P. Goodrich


caption =
birth_date= December 1, 1857
birth_place= Winchester, Indiana
death_date= October 14, 1925
death_place= Winchester, Indiana
party = Republican
religion = Presbyterian [ [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=f9cc224971c81010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD NGA Bio] ]
spouse = Cora I. Prist [ [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=f9cc224971c81010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD NGA Bio] ]
office2 =Governor of Indiana
order2 =29th
term_start2 =January 8, 1917
term_end2 =January 10, 1921
predecessor2 =Samuel M. Ralston
successor2 =Warren T. McCray

James Putnam Goodrich, (February 18, 1864 - August 15, 1940), a Republican, was Governor of Indiana from 1917 to 1921.

Biography

Born and raised in Winchester, Indiana, Goodrich attended public schools and DePauw University, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity. Admitted to the bar in 1887, Goodrich practiced law in Winchester and quickly gained prominence in Republican politics, serving as state chairman from 1901 to 1910 and national committeeman from 1912 to 1916. In 1910, he moved his law practice to Indianapolis. His investments in farms, grain elevators, coal mines and banks made him wealthy.

Governor

Nominated for governor over two opponents in the 1916 primary (including Warren T. McCray, who was elected governor four years later), he defeated Democrat John A. M. Adair in the November election.

and another special session six months later to deal with a state financial crisis.

In 1920, Goodrich was Indiana's favorite son candidate for the Republican nomination for president, losing to Senator Warren G. Harding. As president, Harding appointed Goodrich to the Russian Relief Commission. Goodrich made four trips to Russia, then governed by the Bolshevik regime of Vladimir Lenin, and gained a reputation as one of America's best-informed observers of conditions there. Goodrich also served in Herbert Hoover's American Relief Administration and on the St. Lawrence Waterway Commission. He remained active in Republican Party politics and made large donations from his personal fortune to Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana, where he served on the board of trustees.

He died in 1940 at the Randolph County Hospital in Winchester, Indiana, and he is buried in Fountain Park Cemetery in Winchester. Goodrich Hall at Wabash College is named for him.

References

ee also

*List of Governors of Indiana

External links

* [http://www.in.gov/gov/2704.htm Indiana Historical Bureau: Biography and portrait]
* [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=f9cc224971c81010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD National Governors Association - Goodrich Bio]