• Source: Daniel I. J. Thornton

Daniel Isaac J. Thornton (January 31, 1911 – January 18, 1976) was an American Republican politician who served as the 33rd governor of the state of Colorado from 1951 to 1955.




Biography


Daniel Isaac J. Thornton was born in Hall County, Texas, on January 31, 1911, and in 1929 he graduated from Lubbock High School in Lubbock, Texas. He was active in 4-H and was elected President of the Texas 4-H clubs in 1927. Thornton attended (1929–30) Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) in Lubbock, attended the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) in 1932 and received Honorary Doctor's Degrees from Western State College in Gunnison, Colorado, in 1951 and Texas Technological College in 1953.
He married Jessie Willock, and they remained married until her death in 1972. In 1937, the Thorntons purchased a cattle ranch near Springerville in northeastern Arizona. In 1941, they moved their operation to a ranch in Gunnison County in southern Colorado. The Thorntons developed the Thornton Type, a strain of Hereford cattle. In 1948, Thornton was elected to the Colorado State Senate, a position that he held for only two years before becoming governor.




Political career


In 1950, Thornton defeated incumbent Democratic governor Walter Walford Johnson. Thornton was known for his Stetson hat, pipe, and cowboy boots. He served as governor for two then two-year terms. As governor, he was instrumental in developing the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. In 1952 he was one of five people on the short list for consideration of the Republican vice presidential nomination. Dwight D. Eisenhower, like Thornton Texas-born, instead chose Richard Nixon, a freshman U.S. senator from California.
In 1956, Thornton was under discussion for a cabinet appointment. He was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Colorado that year, but was narrowly defeated by the Democrat John A. Carroll.




Death and legacy


Dan Thornton died of a heart attack in Carmel, California, on January 18, 1976, two weeks shy of his 65th birthday.
Governor Thornton is the namesake of the City of Thornton outside Denver, Colorado. In 2008, he was listed among the "100 Most Influential People" from Lubbock, as part of the city centennial observation.




See also



History of Colorado
Law and government of Colorado
List of governors of Colorado
State of Colorado
Thornton, Colorado




References






Further reading


American Hereford Journal. Kansas City, Mo.: Hereford Publications.
Daniel I. J. Thornton Manuscript Collection. Colorado Historical Society. Denver, Co.
Daniel I. J. Thornton Newspaper Clippings Collection. Denver Public Library. Western History Collection. Denver, Co.
Gunnison County Stockgrowers Since 1894 : Tops in Cattle. Denver, Co.: Colorado Cattlemen's Association, 1967.
Preston, R.L., Ph.D., Stetson, Pipe and Boots, Colorado's Cattleman Governor, A Biography about Dan Thornton, Trafford Publishing, Victoria, B.C., 2006.




External links


The Governors of Colorado
The Governor Daniel I.J. Thornton Collection at the Colorado State Archives

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Daftar antariksawan
• Logam mulia
• I Am Number Four (film)
• Daftar penulis bacaan anak
• Hukum gerak Newton
• Adolf Hitler
• Daftar penyanyi country
• Sonny with a Chance (musim 2)
• Pembunuhan John F. Kennedy
• Filsafat ilmu
• Daniel I. J. Thornton
• Governor of Colorado
• 1950 Colorado gubernatorial election
• List of Texas Tech University alumni
• Springerville, Arizona
• Allan Shivers
• Senator Thornton
• 1952 Colorado gubernatorial election
• 1952 Republican National Convention
• Billy Bob Thornton