Robert E. Quinn

Robert Emmet Quinn (April 2, 1894 - May 19, 1975) was an American politician and a former governor of Rhode Island.

Quinn was born on April 2, 1894 in Rhode Island. He graduated from Brown University in 1915. He then completed his law degree from Harvard Law School in 1918.

He became the Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island from 1932 to 1937. He was nominated for governorship of Rhode Island when incumbent Governor Francis Green chose to run for a seat in the United States Senate. He held the governor's office from January 5, 1937 to January 3, 1939. During his administration, Quinn advocated a merit system for state workers, a personal income tax, and exemption for the poor from real estate taxes.

Quinn was unsuccessful in his re-election bid. He returned to his law practice and won appointment to a Superior Court judgeship in 1941. During the Second World War, he entered the military as a Commander in the Navy’s legal branch. He served for four years, rising to the rank of Captain. He returned to the bench after the end of the war. In 1951, he was named Chief Judge of a new United States Court of Military Appeals, a position from which he retired in 1975.

He died on May 19, 1975.

Sources

* Sobel, Robert and John Raimo. "Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978". Greenwood Press, 1988. ISBN 0-313-28093-2