Goodwin Knight | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Knight in 1956 | |
| 31st Governor of California | |
| In office October 5, 1953 – January 5, 1959 | |
| Lieutenant | Harold J. Powers |
| Preceded by | Earl Warren |
| Succeeded by | Pat Brown |
| 35th Lieutenant Governor of California | |
| In office January 7, 1947 – October 5, 1953 | |
| Governor | Earl Warren |
| Preceded by | Frederick F. Houser |
| Succeeded by | Harold J. Powers |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Goodwin Jess Knight (1896-12-09)December 9, 1896 Provo, Utah, U.S. |
| Died | May 22, 1970(1970-05-22) (aged 73) Inglewood, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | Stanford University |
| Profession | Judge |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | United States |
| Branch/service | United States Navy |
| Years of service | 1918–1919 |
| Rank | Seaman |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Goodwin Jess "Goodie" Knight (December 9, 1896 – May 22, 1970) was an American politician and judge who served as the 31stgovernor of California from 1953 to 1959. A member of theRepublican Party, he previously served as the 35thlieutenant governor of California from 1947 to 1953 under GovernorEarl Warren.
Knight was born in Utah and moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was a child. He followed a career in law and politics, becoming a Superior Court judge before moving into politics. He was elected lieutenant governor of California in 1946, serving under Governor Earl Warren. Upon Warren's appointment asChief Justice of the United States by PresidentDwight D. Eisenhower, Knight assumed the governorship before being elected in his own right in1954.[1] His tenure as governor was marked by conflicts within his party. He chose not to run for a second full term as governor in1958 and made anunsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate. He attempted to make a return to the governorship in1962, but withdrew from the race.
Knight was married twice and had two daughters. He died in 1970, shortly after the suicide of his daughter. His funeral was attended by high-profile individuals including then-California GovernorRonald Reagan and U.S. SenatorBarry Goldwater.
Knight was born inProvo, Utah, but his family moved toLos Angeles when he was a boy. His father, Jesse Jasper Knight (nephew of mining magnateJesse Knight), was a mining engineer, but Goodwin followed in the footsteps of his maternal grandfather, John B. Milner, who was ajudge in Provo.
Knight attendedhigh school in Los Angeles, atManual Arts High School. One of his classmates wasJimmy Doolittle. He earned anA.B. inLaw andBusiness fromStanford University, where he was a staff member of theStanford Chaparral in 1919. Knight also attendedCornell University. He served in theU.S. Navy duringWorld War I.
Knight was ajudge of theSuperior Court inLos Angeles beginning in 1935. He was reelected in 1936 and 1942 without significant opposition. His case load varied from the glamorous to the mundane. He oversaw weddings anddivorces forHollywood starlets.
Knight began his political career in 1944, when he pursued theRepublican nomination for theU.S. Senate. He bowed out early, though, to backFred Houser. He was elected as the35th Lieutenant Governor of California to serve under GovernorEarl Warren in 1946, then reelected in 1950. He became governor himself when Warren resigned to becomeChief Justice of the United States in 1953.
While Lieutenant Governor, he made a guest appearance onJack Benny's radio show which aired on May 10, 1953, an episode from San Francisco. He appeared on Benny's TV show four years later, on February 10, 1957.[2]
As governor, Knight fought for control of theRepublican Party of California withU.S. Senate Majority LeaderWilliam Knowland andVice PresidentRichard Nixon. In 1954, Knight was easily elected to his own full term. At first Knight seemed to make an alliance with Knowland, but this began to sour in 1956 when Knowland supported Nixon for renomination as vice president. In 1957, Knowland announced that he would challenge Knight in the 1958Republicanprimary for governor. Knight, known as amoderate, and sympathetic toorganized labor, faced a serious threat from moreconservative challengers. In November 1957, induced byNorman Chandler (GOP-friendly publisher ofThe Los Angeles Times), old enemy Nixon andPresidentDwight Eisenhower (among others), Knight announced he would run for Knowland's Senate seat instead of running for governor again as a way to prevent a tough fight between two California Republicans in a political race.[3] Both Knowland and Knight went down in defeat in 1958, with Knowland losing the gubernatorial race toEdmund G. "Pat" Brown, Sr. and Knight losing the Senate race by over 10% toClair Engle, severely weakening the heretofore-dominant Republicans in the state. This left Nixon in control of the California party and in line for the presidential nomination, which Knowland and Knight had also desired.
Knight was present at the July 17, 1955, opening ofDisneyland, and gave a speech followingWalt Disney's famous dedication.
In September 1961, Knight announced a bid for a return to the governorship. He later dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination which was won by Nixon, who was in turn defeated by Brown.[4]
In 1964, Knight endorsedNelson Rockefeller for the Republican nomination againstBarry Goldwater. Rockefeller was unsuccessful in stopping Goldwater, the darling of the party's growing conservative wing. Knight never ran for political office again.
Knight's first wife, Arvilla, died of a heart attack on October 29, 1952; the couple had two daughters. He married Virginia Carlson (born Virginia Piegrue on October 12, 1918, inFort Dodge,Iowa), the widow of an Army lieutenant, on August 2, 1954, at the Episcopal Church of Our Savior inLos Angeles.[5] The couple had no children.
On May 22, 1970, Knight died three months after his 36-year-old daughter Carolyn Knight Weedman committed suicide. She took her life by carbon monoxide asphyxiation from her car in the garage of her home in theHancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles and left behind two sons, Jonathan and Robert Weedman. Knight discovered his daughter a day later, and this is believed to have contributed to the stroke that ultimately ended his life. His widow, Virginia, never remarried; she died at age 92 on November 29, 2010.[6]
Goodwin Knight's funeral took place in Saint James Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, with full military honors. The funeral was attended by then California GovernorRonald Reagan, U.S. SenatorBarry Goldwater from Arizona, accompanied by his son, U.S. RepresentativeBarry Goldwater Jr. from California, General of the ArmyOmar Bradley and numerous Hollywood and civic leaders. Knight was initially interred at Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, but one year later disinterred and his remains moved toRose Hills Memorial Park inWhittier, California after his second wife, Virginia Knight, learned he had purchased a crypt next to his first wife, Arvilla.
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forGovernor of California 1954 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Republican nominee forU.S. Senator fromCalifornia (Class 1) 1958 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Lieutenant Governor of California 1947–1953 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of California 1953–1959 | Succeeded by |
| Under Spain (1769–1822) |  | |
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| Under Mexico (1822–1846) | ||
| Under U.S. military (1846–1850) | ||
| U.S. state (since 1850) | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
