Lloyd Stark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 39thGovernor of Missouri | |
| In office January 11, 1937 – February 26, 1941 | |
| Lieutenant | Frank Gaines Harris |
| Preceded by | Guy Brasfield Park |
| Succeeded by | Forrest C. Donnell |
| Chair of theNational Governors Association | |
| In office June 26, 1939 – June 2, 1940 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Leroy Cochran |
| Succeeded by | William Henry Vanderbilt III |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lloyd Crow Stark (1886-11-23)November 23, 1886 Louisiana, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | September 17, 1972(1972-09-17) (aged 85) Clayton, Missouri, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Education | United States Naval Academy(BS) |
Lloyd Crow Stark (November 23, 1886 – September 17, 1972) was an American businessman and politician who served as the39th Governor of theU.S. state ofMissouri. He was a member of theDemocratic Party.
Stark was born inLouisiana, Missouri, the son of Clarence McDowell and Lillie Crow Stark. Stark was a 1908 graduate of theUnited States Naval Academy.[1] After serving four years as a naval officer, Stark went into the family business, theStark Brothers' Nursery, as vice-president and general manager. He was a major in theUS Army duringWorld War I. During his volunteer stint, Stark served in the United States andFrance, including the 1918Meuse-Argonne Offensive.[2]
Stark's political career began in 1928, when he chaired Missouri's State Highway Bond Campaign. He served one term as the governor of Missouri from 1937 to 1941 and was a delegate toDemocratic National Convention from Missouri in 1940. During his gubernatorial term, Stark's administration established theEllis Fischel Cancer Center, abolished interstate trade barriers, passed a police reorganization bill, and established a merit system for selection of state employees.[2]
Lloyd Stark had a fierce political rivalry withHarry S. Truman against whom he ran for the Senate in 1940 and lost when he and the prosecutorMaurice M. Milligan, who had toppled the Kansas City political machine, split the anti-Pendergast vote in the Democratic primary.
Although the loss to Truman heralded the end of his political career, Stark spent the remainder of his working life managing the Stark Brothers Nurseries. Meanwhile, Stark influenced the political careers ofClarence Cannon andStuart Symington.[2] Stark died inClayton, Missouri in 1972.
The falling out between Stark and the Kansas City bossTom Pendergast following the 1936 election is widely believed to have been the turning point in Pendergast's fall from power. Pendergast had held so much sway in Missouri in the 1930s that the governor's mansion was dubbed "Uncle Tom's Cabin."[3]
Stark sought and received Pendergast's support. Pendergast's minions were more corrupt and obvious than usual during the 1936 election. That prompted numerous investigations, and Stark turned overtly against Pendergast, who was eventually convicted of income tax evasion.[4]
Stark served as Governor for six weeks beyond his normal term as a result of the controversial1940 Missouri gubernatorial election, also called the "Great Governorship Steal", in which Pendergast-aligned Democrats attempted to overturn a narrow victory by RepublicanForrest C. Donnell. Stark opposed these efforts and vetoed resolutions from theMissouri General Assembly that attempted to recount the election in a manner favorable to Democrats.[5] The controversy was ultimately resolved by theMissouri Supreme Court in favor of Donnell, who was inaugurated six weeks late on February 26, 1941.[6]
Lloyd Stark was part of a family rather prominent in Missouri and was active with his brother Paul in the then family-owned business Stark Brothers' Nursery (the oldest nursery in America and at one time the largest in the world). The nursery had popularized theGolden Delicious apple.
Stark married Margaret Pearson Stickney ofBaltimore in 1908. Together they had sons Lloyd Stickney and John Wingate Stark. Margaret died in 1930. Stark then married Katherine Lemoine Perkins in 1931. They had two daughters, Mary Murray Spottswood and Katherine Lemoine Stark.[2]
Stark's cousin,Charles Stark Draper, was a prominent inventor. The uncle of Lloyd Stark and Charles Stark Draper, state representative, James O. Stark was a prominent supporter and adviser of presidential contender and Speaker of the House,Champ Clark (despite this connection, Clark's sonBennett, Missouri's other Senator, crucially supported Truman in 1940) - and the husband of the niece of Republican anti-slavery activistElihu Washburne.
Stark's home at Louisiana from 1915 to 1940 was listed on theNational Register of Historic Places in 1987 as theGov. Lloyd Crow Stark House and Carriage House.[7][8]
| Party political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forGovernor of Missouri 1936 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Missouri 1937–1941 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Chair of theNational Governors Association 1939–1940 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
