William Tudor Gardiner (June 12, 1892 – August 3, 1953) was an American politician and the 55th

Governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is J ...

Early life

Gardiner was born in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

on June 12, 1892, the youngest of five children born to

Robert Hallowell Gardiner III Robert Hallowell Gardiner III (September 9, 1855 – June 15, 1924) was an Episcopal layman and ecumenist, head of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew and one of the founders of the World Council of Churches. A prominent lawyer in Maine and Boston until ...

and Alice (Bangs) Gardiner. He studied at the Groton School, graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in 1914, and studied for two years at Harvard Law School. He completed his studies with his brother Robert H. Gardiner, and was admitted to the bar in 1917.

First World War

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 ...

, Gardiner served in the army. He later became the first lieutenant of the 1st Maine Heavy Artillery. He served outside the United States and participated in the operation that attained the

Italian Armistice The Armistice of Cassibile was an armistice signed on 3 September 1943 and made public on 8 September between the Kingdom of Italy and the Allies during World War II. It was signed by Major General Walter Bedell Smith for the Allies and Brigad ...

. After his military service, he established his law career in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

Politics

Gardiner was elected as a member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1920. He held that position for six years. In 1928, he was nominated by the Republican Party for the governorship of Maine. He won the general election by a popular vote. He was successful in his re-election bid in 1930. During his administration, when the stock market crashed, the crippling economic problems were dealt with. He left office on January 4, 1933. During World War II Gardiner returned to the Army, serving in the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

as a staff officer. While assigned as Intelligence Officer of the

51st Troop Carrier Wing The 51st Troop Carrier Wing is an inactive United States Air Force unit. The wing was formed during World War II and was the first troop carrier wing in the Army Air Forces (AAF) organized for deployment overseas. During the war, it served in ...

in North Africa, he joined Brigadier General Maxwell D. Taylor, artillery commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, on a clandestine mission behind Axis lines in Italy on September 7–8, 1943. Meeting with Italian prime minister Marshal

Pietro Badoglio Pietro Badoglio, 1st Duke of Addis Abeba, 1st Marquess of Sabotino (, ; 28 September 1871 – 1 November 1956), was an Italian general during both World Wars and the first viceroy of Italian East Africa. With the fall of the Fascist regime ...

and General

Giacomo Carboni Giacomo Carboni (29 April 1889 – 2 December 1973) was an Italian general who was the commander of ''Corpo d'armata motocorazzato'' deployed around Rome in the early days of September 1943. Life and career Born in Reggio Emilia he joined the ...

, the pair had been sent to assess the chances of success of an airborne operation to seize two airfields near Rome in advance of the

Allied invasion of Italy The Allied invasion of Italy was the Allied amphibious landing on mainland Italy that took place from 3 September 1943, during the Italian campaign of World War II. The operation was undertaken by General Sir Harold Alexander's 15th Army ...

at Salerno, and the credibility of Italian assurances of cooperation. As a result of the meeting, the proposed operation was cancelled at the last minute and a disaster averted.

Personal life

Gardiner married Margaret Thomas and they had four children. Their son, Tudor (a lawyer), was married to

Tenley Albright Tenley Emma Albright (born July 18, 1935) is an American former figure skater and surgeon. She is the 1956 Olympic champion, the 1952 Olympic silver medalist, the 1953 and 1955 World Champion, the 1953 and 1955 North American champion, and the ...

, a distinguished figure skater, and later a surgeon. He was an Episcopalian. Gardiner was killed in a plane crash on August 3, 1953. He, along with state Senator Edward E. Chase and South Portland grocer Edwin S. Burt were flying home from a 56th Pioneer Infantry Association reunion in

Shamokin, Pennsylvania Shamokin (; Saponi Algonquian ''Schahamokink'', meaning "place of eels") ( Lenape Indian language: Shahëmokink) is a city in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. Surrounded by Coal Township at the western edge of the Anthracit ...

when the Beechcraft Bonanza they were flying in exploded, crashing in

Schnecksville, Pennsylvania Schnecksville is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in North Whitehall Township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. The population of Schnecksville was 2,935 at the 2010 census. Schnecksville is a suburb of Allentown in ...

. Gardiner was buried at Christ Church Cemetery in

Gardiner, Maine Gardiner is a city in Kennebec County, Maine, United States. The population was 5,961 at the 2020 census. Popular with tourists, Gardiner is noted for its culture and old architecture. Gardiner is a nationally accrediteMain StreetAmerica commun ...

."Former Gov. W. T. Gardiner, State Senator Chase And E. S. Burt Die In Plane Crash" ''Lewiston Evening Journal'' August 3, 1953.
Retrieved June 12, 2014.

References

Sources