- Frank Licht
Frank Licht (
March 13 ,1916 ndashMay 30 ,1987 ) wasGovernor of Rhode Island from 1969 to 1973.Licht was born in
Providence, Rhode Island to Jacob Licht and Rose Kassed Licht. He graduated fromBrown University in 1938 andHarvard Law School in 1941. In 1946, he married Dorothy Shirley Krauss; they had three daughters.He was a partner with the Providence firm of Letts & Quinn from 1943 to 1956 and was an active member of the
Freemasons . [http://politicalgraveyard.com/geo/RI/masons.html]Licht was elected to the
Rhode Island Senate in 1949 and served there until 1956. He sat on the Superior Court of Rhode Island from 1956 to 1968. That year, he fought and won an underdog campaign to oust Republican governorJohn Chafee , later a US Senator. He was elected Governor of Rhode Island and served as the firstJew ish holder of that office from 1969 to 1973.As governor, he reversed campaign promises made in 1968 and 1970, pushing through Rhode Island's first
income tax in order to resolve a worsening fiscal crisis. He signed the tax bill minutes after the Senate had passed it on a 26-24 vote, against the backdrop of some 500 angry demonstrators in the State House.He was the uncle of Richard A. Licht, who was
Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island from 1985 to 1989.Frank Licht died of cancer at Roger Williams Hospital.
Michael Dukakis spoke at his funeral in 1987. ( [http://www.uri.edu/library/special_collections/registers/political_papers/richardlicht/seriesII.html] )References
* [http://www.uri.edu/library/special_collections/registers/political_papers/licht/biographical%20note.html Frank Licht biographical notes at the University of Rhode Island]
* "Governor of Rhode Island Signs Income Tax Measure", "The New York Times ", February 27, 1971, p. 9.
* "Frank Licht, an Ex-Governor; Led Rhode Island in Late 60's", "The New York Times ", May 31, 1987, p. 32.
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