John Burroughs (April 7, 1907May 21, 1978) was an American politician, educator, and businessman who served as the 18th governor of New Mexico. Burroughs, a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

, served one-term and is remembered for honest government and introduction of the concept of a state Personnel Act to improve the quality of state workers and limit somewhat the effect of

political patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

Early life and education

Burroughs was born in

Robert Lee, Texas Robert Lee is a city in and the county seat of Coke County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,049 at the 2010 census. The founders named the city after Robert E. Lee who is thought to have set up camp for a time near the current ...

. He attended Texas Technological College (now

Texas Tech University Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

), where he played on the

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

and was a member of the Agg Club, Tech Chamber of Commerce, stock judging team, and student council. He graduated in 1929 with a Bachelor of Science degree in

Animal Husbandry Animal husbandry is the branch of agriculture concerned with animals that are raised for meat, fibre, milk, or other products. It includes day-to-day care, selective breeding, and the raising of livestock. Husbandry has a long history, starti ...

,Staff (May 22, 1978) "Ex-Gov. Burroughs dies; funeral services pending" ''The New Mexican'' p. 1 and later took graduate courses at

Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a public land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University System. Colorado State University is classified among "R1: ...

Career

He obtained his teaching certificate and, after several years of teaching agriculture in the New Mexico cities of

Los Lunas Los Lunas is a village in Valencia County, New Mexico, United States. As of the 2010 census, the village population is 14,835 inside the village limits due to the new housing developments at El Cerro de Los Lunas (Huning Ranch). It is the county ...

and Clovis, went to work for an oil company located in the latter. In 1942 he entered the

food processing Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms. Food processing includes many forms of processing foods, from grinding grain to make raw flour to home cooking to complex industr ...

industry. Eventually, he founded the "Cotton Oil Mill and Peanut Mill Company", which had branches in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, Texas, and

Portales, New Mexico Portales is a city in and the county seat of Roosevelt County, New Mexico, United States. Its population was 12,280 at the 2010 census. Portales is located near the larger city of Clovis, and Cannon Air Force Base, a major contributor to the e ...

. His Texas plant made peanut butter. A first time representative in the New Mexico legislature from Portales in 1957, Burroughs defeated incumbent Governor Edwin L. Mechem by less than one percent of the vote (103,481 to 101,567). As governor, Burroughs stressed financial responsibility and pressed state officials to recover funds due and owing to the state. He created the New Mexico Department of Development incorporating the Tourist Bureau, the Economic Development Commission, and ''

New Mexico Magazine ''New Mexico Magazine'' was launched in 1923, and is the first state magazine founded in the United States. It is published monthly in print, online, and via an iOS app. Additionally, the magazine also maintains a store, selling New Mexico-relate ...

'' under one authority. He was not re-elected. The next year he made a bid for the Democratic nomination for governor, but was stymied early in the process when his bid was quashed by the powerful Senator Clint Anderson. He ran again for governor in 1966, receiving the Democratic pre-primary convention endorsement, but was soundly defeated in the Democratic primary by

Gene Lusk Thomas Eugene Lusk (June 4, 1920 – February 14, 1969) was an American politician from the state of New Mexico. Early life and education Lusk was born in 1920 on a ranch near Lovington, New Mexico, to Dolph and Georgia Lee Lusk, who served o ...

.Holmes, Jack E. (1967) ''Politics in New Mexico'' University of New Mexico Press , Albuquerque, NM, pp. 258–259
OCLC 1014145
/ref> Burroughs retired from politics, but still served on the New Mexico Finance Board under governors

Bruce King Bruce King (April 6, 1924 – November 13, 2009) was an American businessman and politician who for three non-consecutive four-year terms was the governor of New Mexico. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the longest-serving governor in Ne ...

and

Jerry Apodaca Jerry Apodaca (born October 3, 1934) is an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 24th governor of New Mexico from 1975 to 1979 and chair of the president’s council on physical fitness and sports from 1978 to 1980. Perso ...

References

;Specific ;General * Sobel, Robert and Raimo. John (1978) "Burroughs, John (1907–)" ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States 1789–1978'' (Four vols.) Meckler Publishing, Westport, CT,

External links

"New Mexico Governor John Burroughs" National Governors Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burroughs, John 1907 births 1978 deaths Democratic Party members of the New Mexico House of Representatives Democratic Party governors of New Mexico Texas Tech University alumni People from Coke County, Texas Colorado State University alumni 20th-century American politicians