John Hubert Hall (February 7, 1899 – November 14, 1970) was an American
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 ...
politician from the US state of
Oregon
Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...
. He was Speaker of the
Oregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...
in 1947, second in line to the governorship, when the
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 ...
,
secretary of state, and
senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
president were all killed in a
plane crash
An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...
. He served as the
24th Governor of Oregon
The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...
for just over one year.
Early life and education
Hall was born in
Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States
* Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...
, the son of
John Hicklin Hall
John Hicklin Hall (July 17, 1854 – July 27, 1937) was a politician and attorney in the U.S. state of Oregon. A native of the Portland, Oregon, Portland area, he served in the Oregon House of Representatives in the early 1890s before appoin ...
, who served as Oregon's
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 ...
. He attended
Lincoln
Lincoln most commonly refers to:
* Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States
* Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England
* Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S.
* Lincol ...
and
Jefferson Jefferson may refer to:
Names
* Jefferson (surname)
* Jefferson (given name)
People
* Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), third president of the United States
* Jefferson (footballer, born 1970), full name Jefferson Tomaz de Souza, Brazilian foo ...
high schools in Portland, and
Culver Military Academy
Culver Academies is a college preparatory boarding school located in Culver, Indiana, which is composed of three entities: Culver Military Academy (CMA) for boys, Culver Girls Academy (CGA), and the Culver Summer Schools and Camps (CSSC). Culver ...
in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
. He graduated from
Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...
in 1923 with a business administration degree.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, he served in the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
as a medical corpsman, and upon his return home, held a variety of jobs before entering Portland's Northwestern School of Law (now a part of
Lewis & Clark College
Lewis & Clark College is a private liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon. Originally chartered in 1867 as the Albany Collegiate Institute in Albany, Oregon, the college was relocated to Portland in 1938 and in 1942 adopted the name Lewis & Cl ...
), and was admitted to the bar in 1926. He married Elizabeth Walch on December 28, 1926, with whom he had two children before her death in 1937. He and Alyce Johnson married on December 31, 1941 and had one child.
In his practice, Hall specialized in corporate and business, representing many corporate clients, including liquor interests, which would play a role in his later political career. He had joined his father's firm in 1926, and upon the elder Hall's retirement, joined the Bowermann law firm in 1932, and later moved to
Lincoln City, Oregon
Lincoln City is a city in Lincoln County on the Oregon Coast of the United States, between Tillamook and Newport. It is named after the county, which was named in honor of former U.S. President Abraham Lincoln. The population was 9,815 at the 202 ...
, and opened a private practice.
Political career
Hall was a member of the
Oregon House of Representatives
The Oregon House of Representatives is the lower house of the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 60 members of the House, representing 60 districts across the state, each with a population of 65,000. The House meets in the west wing of the ...
(elected 1932, 1938, 1942, 1944, 1946) becoming
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
in 1947. On October 28, 1947, Governor
Earl Snell
Earl Wilcox Snell (July 11, 1895 – October 28, 1947) was an American politician, businessman, and member of the Republican Party, serving in the Oregon House of Representatives, as the Oregon Secretary of State, and as the 23rd Governor of Or ...
was killed in a
plane crash
An aviation accident is defined by the Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any person boards the aircraft with the ''intention of fl ...
along with the next in line of succession,
President of the Senate
President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies.
The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for e ...
Marshall E. Cornett. As second in line of succession, Hall became and served as
Governor of Oregon
The governor of Oregon is the head of government of Oregon and serves as the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The title of governor was also applied to the office of Oregon's chief executive during the provisional and U.S. ter ...
until a
1948 special election could be held to elect a governor to complete the term. (In 1972,
Oregon Ballot Measure 8 added the
Oregon Secretary of State
The secretary of state of Oregon, an elected constitutional officer within the executive branch of government of the U.S. state of Oregon, is first in line of succession to the governor. The duties of the office are auditor of public accounts, ch ...
as first in line of succession; however, since Secretary of State
Robert S. Farrell, Jr.
Robert Sylvester Farrell Jr. (October 25, 1906 – October 28, 1947) was an American Republican politician in the state of Oregon.
Political career
He lived in Portland, Multnomah County, Oregon, and served as a Delegate to the Republican Nat ...
was also killed in this crash, the result would have been the same.)
During Hall's short tenure as governor, he sought to adjust wages and salaries of state employees for inflation, was a strong supporter of education, and favored a plan to allocate state surpluses on construction projects for higher educational and other state institutions.
From the beginning, Hall's administration was marked by controversy regarding his attempts to liberalize the state's regulation of the liquor industry. He sought to reorganize the
Oregon Liquor Control Commission
The Oregon Liquor and Cannabis Commission (OLCC), formerly known as Oregon Liquor Control Commission is a government agency of the U.S. state of Oregon. The OLCC was created by an act of the Oregon Legislative Assembly in 1933, days after the re ...
, which he had felt had been arbitrary and non-judicial in its decisions when he had represented clients before it, and unresponsive to the legislature during his tenure as a State Representative. The issue came to a head with his dismissal of a commission member who had publicly disagreed with the governor over removing limits on the purchase of liquor.
During the height of the controversy, State Senator
Douglas McKay
James Douglas McKay (June 24, 1893 – July 22, 1959) was an American businessman and politician from the U.S. state of Oregon. He served in World War I before going into business, where he was most successful as a car dealership owner in Salem ...
, a friend of late Governor Snell, and president of the Automobile Dealer's Association, announced that he would challenge Hall in the 1948 Republican primary, and quickly launched a well-financed and organized campaign. A contentious race ensued, in which charges of conflicts of interest and immorality were brought to bear against Hall because of his liquor industry ties. Hall lost the nomination to McKay by a statewide vote of 103,224 to 107,993.
Later life
After leaving office as governor, Hall moved to
Lincoln County, Oregon
Lincoln County is one of the 36 counties in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2020 census, its population was 50,395. The county seat is Newport. The county is named for Abraham Lincoln, 16th president of the United States.
Lincoln County ...
, to practice law. He served one term as an Oregon district judge, (elected 1965), overcame throat cancer, and after a short period of semi-retirement, died in
Newport on November 14, 1970.
References
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hall, John H.
1899 births
1970 deaths
Republican Party governors of Oregon
Lewis & Clark Law School alumni
Oregon State University alumni
Speakers of the Oregon House of Representatives
Republican Party members of the Oregon House of Representatives
People from Newport, Oregon
United States Navy personnel of World War I
Jefferson High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni
Lincoln High School (Portland, Oregon) alumni
20th-century American politicians
Oregon state court judges
Lawyers from Portland, Oregon
20th-century American judges
People from Lincoln City, Oregon
Culver Academies alumni
20th-century American lawyers