Oklahoma History

James Howard Edmondson—Democrat—served from 1959 to 1963. The youngest governor in the history of the state, Edmondson was born in Muskogee, , on September 27, 1925. He attended elementary and secondary schools in that city and enrolled in the after high school graduation. He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in March 1942, and served until December 5, 1945. He completed his law degree in August 1948. After practicing law in Muskogee, he moved to Tulsa to become the chief prosecutor in the office of the county attorney of Tulsa County. He was elected county attorney in 1954 and was re‑elected in 1956. Edmondson was inaugurated on January 8, 1959, after having been elected to that post by the largest majority ever given a gubernatorial candidate in the state. He resigned the office on January 6, 1963, and was appointed to the Senate to fill the position left vacant by the death of Robert S. Kerr. At the time of his death on on November 17, 1971, he was a practicing attorney in , where he is buried.

George Nigh served from January 6 until January 14, 1963, when Bellmon assumed office.

Henry Louis Bellmon—Republican—served from 1963 to 1967. The first Republican governor of the Oklahoma was born in Tonkawa, Oklahoma, on September 3, 1921. He is the son of George and Edith Caskey Bellmon. He attended Colorado State University, later transferring to Oklahoma State University where he was granted the degree of Bachelor of Science in Agriculture. served with the U.S. Marine Corps from 1942 through 1946, received the Silver Star for action on Saipan and the Legion of Merit for action on Iwo Jima. He was a member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives during the Twenty‑first in 1947. He was a farmer in Billings, Oklahoma, at the time of his election as governor. He served from January 14, 1963, to January 9, 1967. He was elected to the U. S. Senate in 1968 and again in 1974, the first Republican in state history to be re-elected to the U. S. Senate. He chose not to run in 1980.

Dewey Follett Bartlett—Republican—served from 1967 to 1971. The second Republican governor of Oklahoma, Bartlett was born in Marietta, Ohio, on March 28, 1919. He was the son of David A. and Jessie Follett Bartlett. He attended Princeton University where he was granted a BSE degree in Geological Engineering. Dewey Bartlett served in the Marine Corps during World War II as a combat dive-bomber pilot. He received the Air Medal. He was a partner in Keener Oil Company, one of Oklahoma’s oldest, small independent oil companies. He was first elected to the in 1962 and was re‑elected in 1964. He served as governor from January 9, 1967, to January 11, 1971, and was elected to the U. S. Senate on November 7, 1972. He did not seek re-election because of failing health, and died on March 1, 1979. He is buried in Tulsa.

David Hall—Democrat—served from 1971 to 1975. Hall was born on October 20, 1930, in Oklahoma City. He is the son of Mr. and Mrs. William A. “Red” Hall. He was Phi Beta Kappa at the University of Oklahoma, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1952. Hall served in the U.S. Air Force from 1952 to 1954. He continued his education at the University of Tulsa, earning his law degree in 1959. He served as assistant county attorney of Tulsa County from 1959 to 1962, and as county

754 Oklahoma Almanac