How to Pronounce Simeon Willis
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Dec 01, 1879 Aid Township, Ohio, United States Died on 02 Apr 1965 (aged 85)
American lawyer and politician
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Simeon Willis, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Family, Facts, Age, Net Worth, Biography and More in FamedBorn.com
About Simeon Willis
- Simeon Slavens Willis (December 1, 1879 – April 1, 1965) was the 46th Governor of Kentucky, United States, serving from 1943 to 1947.
- He was the only Republican elected governor of Kentucky between 1927 and 1967.Willis's family came to Kentucky from Ohio about 1889.
- After briefly working in the education and journalism fields, Willis read law with private tutors and was admitted to the bar in 1901.
- He became interested in politics, but his early races for office were unsuccessful with the exception of his four-year stint as city solicitor for Ashland, Kentucky.
- Finally in 1927, newly elected governor Flem D.
- Sampson appointed Willis to the Kentucky Court of Appeals—then the court of last resort in the state.
- Willis went on to win a full four-year term on the court in 1928, and distinguished himself by revising Thornton on the Law of Oil and Gas, a six-volume law reference.
- He was defeated for re-election to his seat in 1932 and returned to his law practice. After a decade out of politics, Willis was chosen without opposition as the Republican gubernatorial nominee in 1943.
- Infighting among the state's Democrats, combined with Willis's popular proposal to eliminate the state income tax, carried him to a narrow victory over J.
- Lyter Donaldson.
- Willis was opposed by Democratic majorities in both houses of the Kentucky General Assembly.
- The end of World War II in 1945 brought sizable budget surpluses to the state, and disagreements over how to spend the excess funds spilled over into special legislative sessions.
- Willis was not able to realize his campaign promise of eliminating the state income tax because the legislature expanded the budget far beyond what he proposed.
- But he did forge a record of modest accomplishments, including constructing five tuberculosis hospitals across the state and significantly increasing funding for education.
- Following his term as governor, he served on various state boards and commissions, but failed in his only attempt to return to elective office—a 1952 campaign against Bert T.
- Combs to return to the Court of Appeals.
- Willis died on April 1, 1965, and is interred at Frankfort Cemetery in the capital city of Frankfort.
