George Alfred Carlson (October 23, 1876 – December 6, 1926) was the 20th

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

from 1915 to 1917.

Biography

He was born on October 23, 1876, in

Alta, Iowa Alta is a city in Buena Vista County, Iowa, United States. The population was 2,087 at the 2020 census. History Alta was platted in 1872, and it was incorporated in 1878. By 2004, Alta contained three general stores, two drug stores, two groc ...

. Carlson graduated from the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University of Co ...

in 1902 and earned his law degree there in 1904. He practiced law in

Fort Collins, Colorado Fort Collins is a home rule municipality that is the county seat and the most populous municipality of Larimer County, Colorado Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359 ...

, from 1905 to 1908, and was

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

in Fort Collins from 1908 to 1914. He ran for governor as a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

in 1914 and won, benefiting from vote-splitting between Democrats and Progressives. Carlson's administration was noted for labor reforms, including the passage of a

workers' compensation Workers' compensation or workers' comp is a form of insurance providing wage replacement and medical benefits to employees injured in the course of employment in exchange for mandatory relinquishment of the employee's right to sue his or her emp ...

law and the establishment of the Industrial Commission of Colorado. He also supported and signed into law a

prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

bill making Colorado a "dry state." Carlson was defeated for reelection in 1916. After leaving office, he returned to law practice in Denver. He died on December 6, 1926, in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

External links

*
State of Colorado biography

at the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

George Alfred Carlson entry
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Carlson, George Alfred 1876 births 1926 deaths Republican Party governors of Colorado People from Buena Vista County, Iowa University of Colorado alumni