Roy E. Furman (April 16, 1901 – May 18, 1977) was an American politician who served as the 21st

lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania The lieutenant governor is a constitutional officer of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The lieutenant governor is elected for a four-year term in the same year as the governor. Each party picks a candidate for lieutenant governor independently o ...

from 1955 to 1959 and as Speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representative from 1936–1938.

Life and career

Furman was born in Davistown, Greene County, Pennsylvania. Educated at Waynesburg College and owner of a construction company, he was elected to the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

in 1932 and became Speaker of the House in 1936. He retired in 1940 to return to his construction business but remained politically active as chair of Greene County Democrats for ten years. He served as Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania from January 1955 to 1959 during Governor

George M. Leader George Michael Leader (January 17, 1918 – May 9, 2013) was an American politician. He served as the 36th governor of Pennsylvania from January 18, 1955, until January 20, 1959. He was a member of the Democratic Party, and a native of York Count ...

's administration. In 1958, Furman ran for the Democratic nomination for governor but lost to David Lawrence. Furman served on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission during Governor Lawrence's term, later serving on the state transportation commission. Act 127 of 1975 designated

Pennsylvania Route 21 Pennsylvania Route 21 (PA 21) is a long east–west state highway in the US state of Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at the West Virginia state line in Richhill Township, where PA 21 continues into West Virginia as West ...

as the “Roy E. Furman Highway.” Furman retired to New Cumberland, Pennsylvania, and died in

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Pennsylvania, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the List of c ...

at the age of 76.

References

External links

The Political GraveyardIndiana University of Pennsylvania Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Furman, Roy E. 1901 births 1977 deaths Lieutenant Governors of Pennsylvania Politicians from Greene County, Pennsylvania Speakers of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives 20th-century American politicians 20th-century American businesspeople Waynesburg University alumni