Paul Linton Patterson (July 18, 1900 – January 31, 1956) 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. A native of

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

, he served in

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 ...

before becoming an attorney in

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 ...

. Later he served as President of the

Oregon State Senate The Oregon State Senate is the upper house of the statewide legislature for the US state of Oregon. Along with the lower chamber Oregon House of Representatives it makes up the Oregon Legislative Assembly. There are 30 members of the state Sena ...

(1951–1952) and the 26th

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 ...

(1952–1956). He was the first

who was born in the 20th century, as well as the most recent one to die in office.

Early life

Patterson was born on July 18, 1900, in

Kent, Ohio Kent is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the largest city in Portage County. It is located along the Cuyahoga River in Northeast Ohio on the western edge of the county. The population was 28,215 at the 2020 Census. The city is counted as pa ...

. His father was George A. Patterson, at the time attending college in Ohio, and Paul's mother was Ada Linton Patterson. After completing college, George became a Congregationalist minister, and moved the family to

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

, in 1908. In his first job, young Paul worked as a newsboy on the streets of Portland, later working up to his own paper route. He completed his public education, a graduate of Portland's Washington High School (now closed). Patterson served briefly in the U.S. Army during

the First World War 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 ...

in the artillery. After the war, Patterson enrolled in the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

, first earning his B.A. in business administration (1923), then a

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

(1926). While in college, he met Georgia Searle Benson, the daughter of a prominent Portland family. They married on May 16, 1927, and later had three children. After graduating, Patterson passed the State Bar and set up a law firm in

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many high-technology companies, ...

, in 1926. He remained involved in this private practice until 1952.

Political career

The law firm launched Patterson's political career, starting with a position as the Deputy District Attorney of Washington County from 1926 until 1933. After serving in this capacity, he went on to serve (at various times) as the city attorney for Hillsboro, Beaverton,

Gaston Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) *Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston ...

Sherwood Sherwood may refer to: Places Australia *Sherwood, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane *Sherwood, South Australia, a locality *Shire of Sherwood, a former local government area of Queensland *Electoral district of Sherwood, an electoral district from ...

, and Tualatin. Such service gained him prominence throughout Washington County's political establishment. He chaired the Washington County Republican Party up to 1944. This is when he noticed an open local seat in the

which had no candidates for office. He agreed to run for it himself, winning in the November 1944 election. He held his Senate seat from 1945 until 1952, the last year as

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 ...

Governorship

Governor

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 ...

resigned in 1952 to accept President

Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

's appointment as U.S.

Secretary of the Interior Secretary of the Interior may refer to: * Secretary of the Interior (Mexico) * Interior Secretary of Pakistan * Secretary of the Interior and Local Government (Philippines) * United States Secretary of the Interior See also

*Interior ministry ...

. At this time, Patterson, as president of the Senate, was next in line for the governorship. He was sworn in as Oregon's 26th governor on December 27, 1952. Governor Patterson assumed office with a low political profile statewide, but proved to be popular. He easily won the Republican gubernatorial nomination and election in his own right in

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

. As with his other Republican contemporaries, he was fiscally conservative, but accepted federal money for unemployment aid, transportation projects, and water management programs. He strongly supported the state's transportation infrastructure, and encouraged the development of the state freeway system. No increases in funding or expansion of social programs were proposed under his leadership. An enduring legacy of Governor Paul Patterson is his opposition to a state sales tax without a popular vote. Any move to legislatively implement a sales tax has been met with major opposition since his administration. Inside his own party, he was looked upon favorably by both the national and local interests. Patterson had the backing of Portland's influential

Arlington Club The Arlington Club is a private social club organized in 1867 by 35 business and banking leaders of Portland in the US state of Oregon. First called the Social Club and later renamed the Arlington Club, it offered its all-male members, most of w ...

, some of whose most powerful members assisted his election campaigns.

Bid for the Senate and unexpected death

Republicans hoped to pick up Senator

Wayne Morse Wayne Lyman Morse (October 20, 1900 – July 22, 1974) was an American attorney and United States Senator from Oregon. Morse is well known for opposing his party's leadership and for his opposition to the Vietnam War on constitutional grounds. ...

's seat in the 1956 election, and considered the popular governor as the party's best chance. Patterson announced his candidacy January 28, 1956, at a time when his popularity was highest. Three days later, after his first campaign speech, Patterson collapsed during a meeting with campaign advisers at the Arlington Club in Portland on January 31, 1956. He was reported as suddenly slumping over in his chair. When examined, it was determined that he had suffered a

coronary occlusion A coronary occlusion is the partial or complete obstruction of blood flow in a coronary artery. This condition may cause a heart attack. In some patients coronary occlusion causes only mild pain, tightness or vague discomfort which may be ignored ...

. The deceased governor was provided a state funeral on February 3, 1956. Patterson's ashes were interred at River View Cemetery in Portland. President of the Senate

Elmo Smith Elmo Everett Smith (November 19, 1909July 15, 1968) was an American Republican politician who served as the 27th Governor of Oregon from 1956 to 1957. Early life Smith was born in Grand Junction, Colorado on November 19, 1909. At the age of ten ...

was sworn in to succeed Patterson as governor.

Sources

External links