John Hammill

Infobox Governor
name= John Hammill


caption=
order=24^st
office= Governor of Iowa
term_start= January 12, 2007
lieutenant= Clem F. Kimball, Arch W. McFarlane
predecessor= N. E. Kendall
successor= Daniel Webster Turner
party= Republican

John Hammill (October 14, 1875-April 6, 1936), served three terms as a Republican Governor of Iowa from 1925-31.

Hammill was born in Linden, Wisconsin. [http://www.nga.org/portal/site/nga/menuitem.29fab9fb4add37305ddcbeeb501010a0/?vgnextoid=101d224971c81010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD&vgnextchannel=e449a0ca9e3f1010VgnVCM1000001a01010aRCRD National Governors Association profile] .] He earned a law degree from the University of Iowa College of Law in 1897, and practiced law in Britt, Iowa. After serving as a county attorney from 1902 to 1908, he was elected to the Iowa Senate where he served until 1913. In 1920, he was elected Lieutenant Governor of Iowa and was re-elected to that position in 1922.

In August 1923, Governor N. E. Kendall was sidelined because of a heart condition, which led to speculation that he would resign before the end of his term, thus leaving Hammill as Iowa's governor. ["'Kendall to Quit Post,' is Story; Kendall says No," Waterloo Evening Courier, 1924-08-21 at 2.] Although Kendall left the state for an extended stay in Hawaii to recouperate, leaving Hammill as Iowa's acting governor for several months, Kendall did not resign. ["John Hammill Takes Governor's Office," Waterloo Evening Courier, 1924-08-27 at 1.] Kendall did not seek re-election in 1924, and Hammill announced his candidacy for the post.

Hammill won the 1924 Republican gubernatorial nomination, and defeated James C. Murtagh in the general election. He was sworn into the governor's office on January 15, 1925. He won reelection to a second term in 1926 (defeating Democratic candidate Alex R. Miller), and to a third term in 1928 (defeating Democratic candidate L. W. Housel).

The following changes occurred during his tenure:
*an office of superintendent of child welfare was instituted;
*banking laws were managed by a state banking board;
*junior colleges were initiated into the public school system;
*the state's highway system was expanded, updated and put under the management of the state highway commission; and
*a constitutional amendment was sanctioned that allowed women to be elected to the General Assembly.

Hammill did not run for reelection as Governor in 1930, choosing instead to run for the United States Senate. He lost in the Republican primary to Lester J. Dickinson.

He died on April 6, 1936, in Britt, where he was buried.

References

External links

*cite news
author=
title=Gentlemen All
date=1927-08-08
work=Time Magazine
url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,730846-1,00.html
accessdate=2008-08-09, TIME, Aug. 8, 1927.