Herbert Warren Ladd (October 15, 1843November 29, 1913) was the 40th and 42nd

Governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, o ...

for two terms: 1889–90 and 1891–92.

Life and career

Ladd was born in

New Bedford New Bedford (Massachusett: ) is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast region. Up through the 17th century, the area was the territory of the Wampanoag Native American pe ...

, Bristol County,

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

on October 15, 1843. He was one of five children of Warren Ladd and Lucy Washburn Kingman. The elder Ladd was involved in New Bedford city politics. Herbert started his career after high school as a dry goods merchant. During the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

he became a

reporter A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalism ...

for the '' New Bedford Mercury'' newspaper, covering several Massachusetts regiments. At war's end, he returned to the dry goods business, first in Boston, then in Rhode Island. His firm was called Ladd and Davis, later renamed the H.W. Ladd Company. On May 25, 1870, Ladd married Emma Burrows of Providence; she died in 1889, just as her husband began his term as governor. They had six children. He was an active member of the

Freemasons 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 ...

Governor

When Ladd first ran for governor in 1889, he was little-known in the state. In a three-way race, he received fewer votes than Democrat

John W. Davis John William Davis (April 13, 1873 – March 24, 1955) was an American politician, diplomat and lawyer. He served under President Woodrow Wilson as the Solicitor General of the United States and the United States Ambassador to the United Kingdom ...

. The third candidate, with the fewest votes, ran under the

Prohibition Party The Prohibition Party (PRO) is a political party in the United States known for its historic opposition to the sale or consumption of alcoholic beverages and as an integral part of the temperance movement. It is the oldest existing third party ...

. Under the rules of the time, if no candidate received an outright majority, the result was decided by the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

. The Republican-controlled Assembly chose Ladd. In fact, Davis received more votes than Ladd three times, in 1889, 1890, and 1891, without winning a majority in any of the three races. The Assembly decided in favor of Ladd twice (1889 and 1891) and for Davis in 1890. The majority requirement was amended in November 1893 by the adoption of Amendment X to the Rhode Island Constitution, which allowed for a winner by plurality vote. In later years, several governors would win the office with a plurality, including:

Lincoln Almond Lincoln Carter Almond (born June 16, 1936) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 72nd Governor of Rhode Island from 1995 to 2003. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the United States Attorney for the Distri ...

in 1994 with 47%;

Lincoln Chafee Lincoln Davenport Chafee ( ; born March 26, 1953) is an American politician. He was mayor of Warwick, Rhode Island from 1993 to 1999, a United States Senator from 1999 to 2007, and the 74th Governor of Rhode Island from 2011 to 2015. He was a m ...

in 2010 with 36%; and

Gina Raimondo Gina Marie Raimondo (; born May 17, 1971) is an American politician, lawyer, and venture capitalist who has served as the 40th United States Secretary of Commerce since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 75th go ...

in 2014 with 41%.

State House commission

In Ladd's first address as governor, he advocated for building a new State House. Ladd was named chairman of the State House Commission. The General Assembly announced an architectural competition for designs; however, Ladd and commission advisor

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance fa� ...

decided they wanted

Charles Follen McKim Charles Follen McKim (August 24, 1847 – September 14, 1909) was an American Beaux-Arts architect of the late 19th century. Along with William Rutherford Mead and Stanford White, he provided the architectural expertise as a member of the partn ...

for the job, and made sure that he "won" the competition. It was reported that Ladd paid a "considerable amount of money" out of his own pocket to help pay for the construction when the state was low on funds, and was never reimbursed for the monies.

Good roads

Ladd, whose official State House portrait depicts him with a

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bic ...

, was a supporter of the

Good Roads Movement The Good Roads Movement occurred in the United States between the late 1870s and the 1920s. It was the rural dimension of the Progressive movement. A key player was the United States Post Office Department. Once a commitment was made for Rural Fre ...

, a national road improvement initiative led by bicyclists. In 1892, Ladd wrote an essay for a

League of American Wheelmen The League of American Bicyclists (LAB), officially the League of American Wheelmen, is a membership organization that promotes cycling for fun, fitness and transportation through advocacy and education. A Section 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization ...

publication ''Good Roads'' outlining his belief that expanding and paving streets was as important to Rhode Island as having good railroads.

Other achievements

* During the summer of 1889, Ladd hosted president Harrison and ex-president Cleveland in Newport. * In fall of 1889, Ladd invited business leaders to Providence to discuss the location of the upcoming World's Fair. * Ladd authorized new uniforms for the Rhode Island

state militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

Post-Governorship

After serving two nonconsecutive terms, Ladd never ran again for public office. He involved himself with several organizations. He founded and served as president for three years of the Commercial Club. He was also president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. He was a member of the YMCA, the Rhode Island Choral Association, the Board of Trade, the Providence Press Club, and the Hope Club. From 1891 to 1896, Ladd served as the President of

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...

Death

Ladd died of a cerebral hemorrhage on November 30, 1913 after a long illness. He was interred at

Swan Point Cemetery Swan Point Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. Established in 1846 on a 60-acre (0.24 km2) plot of land, it has approximately 40,000 interments. History The cemetery was first organi ...

, Providence, Rhode Island.

Honors and legacy

The Ladd Laboratory, an agricultural research facility established at the

University of Rhode Island The University of Rhode Island (URI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Kingston, Rhode Island, United States. It is the flagship public research as well as the land-grant university of the state of Rhode Island ...

in 1891, was named for Governor Ladd.University of Rhode Island – URI History and Timeline
at www.uri.edu In 1889, at the 121st Commencement of

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

, Ladd announced that he would donate an astronomical observatory to the school. The expected cost was , but the building reportedly cost over , . The

Ladd Observatory Ladd Observatory is an astronomical observatory at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Founded in 1891 it was primarily designed for student instruction and also research. The facility operated a regional timekeeping service. It was re ...

, completed in 1891, is named in his honor. Ladd received an honorary Master of Arts Degree from Brown University in 1892.

References

External links

The Political Graveyard
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ladd, Herbert Warren 1843 births 1913 deaths Republican Party governors of Rhode Island Politicians from New Bedford, Massachusetts Burials at Swan Point Cemetery American Freemasons 19th-century American politicians