Evan Dhu Cameron was an American politician and educator who served as the first

Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction The Oklahoma State Superintendent of Public Instruction, sometimes called the Oklahoma State School Superintendent, is the chief executive officer for the Oklahoma State Department of Education and the president of the Oklahoma State Board of Edu ...

from 1907 to 1911 and as the

Oklahoma Territory The Territory of Oklahoma was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 2, 1890, until November 16, 1907, when it was joined with the Indian Territory under a new constitution and admitted to the Union as th ...

Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1894 to 1897.

Early life, education, and early career

Evan Dhu Cameron was born on February 26, 1862, to Caroline Crawford and John Worth Cameron in

Richmond County Richmond County may refer to places: Australia *Richmond County, New South Wales, a cadastral division Canada *Richmond County, Nova Scotia United Kingdom *Richmondshire, the original Richmond County in Yorkshire, England United States ...

, North Carolina as the youngest of seven children. His family was descended from

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

immigrants. His father was a lawyer, editor, and former military officer. He attended school in Richmond, North Carolina, later attended

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, and graduated from the Dick and Dillard School of Law in 1881. He practiced law for seven years in

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

. In 1888 he was licensed by the

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

. He worked as a pastor in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

before moving to

in 1891. He married Clara Williams in 1890. In 1901 he switched denominations and joined the

Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...

. He was the president of the Baptist General Convention of Indian Territory from 1904 to 1905.

Political career

From 1894 to 1896 Cameron served as the Superintendent of Public Instruction, president of the Board of Education, territorial auditor, and president of the board of health for

. In

1907 Events January * January 14 – 1907 Kingston earthquake: A 6.5 Mw earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica, kills between 800 and 1,000. February * February 11 – The French warship ''Jean Bart'' sinks off the coast of Morocco. ...

, he was elected for one term as Oklahoma's first

Superintendent of Public Instruction A state education agency or state department of education is the state-level government organization within each U.S. state or territory responsible for education, including providing information, resources, and technical assistance on educationa ...

as a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

, serving until 1911. During his tenure he is credited for organizing schools from the former

and

Indian Territory The Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States Government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United St ...

into one unified education system and implementing the first uniform textbook law in the state. Between 1907 and 1908, over 2,200 new public schools were opened in rural Oklahoma.

Later life, death, and legacy

In 1908, Cameron University in

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Ce ...

was named after him. Cameron helped found Oklahoma Baptist University in 1911 and received an honorary degree from there in 1915. He unsuccessfully ran for

Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma The lieutenant governor of Oklahoma is the second-highest executive official of the state government of Oklahoma. As first in the gubernatorial line of succession, the lieutenant governor becomes the new governor of Oklahoma upon the death, resi ...

in 1922. He was also a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

. Cameron died on July 29, 1923, of a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

Tahlequah Tahlequah ( ; ''Cherokee'': ᏓᎵᏆ, ''daligwa'' ) is a city in Cherokee County, Oklahoma located at the foothills of the Ozark Mountains. It is part of the Green Country region of Oklahoma and was established as a capital of the 19th-century ...

, Oklahoma. He is buried in

Okmulgee, Oklahoma Okmulgee is a city in, and the county seat of, Okmulgee County, Oklahoma. The name is from the Mvskoke word ''okimulgee,'' which means "boiling waters".Bamburg, Maxine"Okmulgee,"''Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture''. Accessed June 16 ...

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Evan Dhu 1862 births 1923 deaths 19th-century American clergy 19th-century American educators 19th-century American politicians 20th-century American clergy 20th-century American educators 20th-century American politicians American Freemasons American people of Scottish descent Baptists from Oklahoma Cameron University people Educators from Oklahoma Methodists from North Carolina Methodists from Oklahoma Oklahoma Superintendents of Public Instruction Oklahoma Territory officials Religious leaders from Oklahoma Candidates in the 1910 United States elections