Judd King (1872–1958) was a 20th-century American historical lecturer, writer, and political consultant at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, best known for serving as director of the National Popular Government League (1933–1958).

Background

King was born on April 19, 1872, in Waterford, Pennsylvania. From 1889 to 1893 he attended

Battle Creek College Andrews University is a private Seventh-day Adventist university in Berrien Springs, Michigan. Founded in 1874 as Battle Creek College, it was the first higher education facility started by Seventh-day Adventists and is the flagship universit ...

and then attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, graduating in 1896.

Career

In 1902, King founded and edited the '' Morning Sun'' in

Denison, Texas Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, Grayson County, Texas, United States. It is south of the Texas–Oklahoma border. The population was 22,682 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Denison is part of the Texoma region and is one ...

. In 1905, he served for a year as editor of the ''

Independent Voter An independent voter, often also called an unaffiliated voter or non-affiliated voter in the United States, is a voter who does not align themselves with a political party. An independent is variously defined as a voter who votes for candidates o ...

'' in Toledo, Ohio. In 1908 to 1910, King served as Field Secretary of the Ohio Direct Legislation League. In 1933 to 1958, he served as Director of the National Popular Government League (NPGL). In May 1920, NGPL published a 67-page ''Report upon the Illegal Practices of the United States Department of Justice''; most of the writing was done by

Swinburne Hale Swinburne Hale (1884–1937) was an American lawyer, poet, and socialist, best remembered as one of the leading civil rights attorneys of the decade of the 1920s. Hale was a Harvard College classmate of Roger Nash Baldwin and law partner of ...

of the radical law firm Hale,

Nelles Nelles is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * H. Vivian Nelles, Canadian historian * Mathilde Nelles (born 1997), Belgian alpine ski racer *Maurice Nelles, American engineer, business executive and professor * Percy W. Nelles (189 ...

& Shorr. In 1935 to 1944, he worked concurrently as a special consultant to the

Rural Electrification Administration The United States Rural Utilities Service (RUS) administers programs that provide infrastructure or infrastructure improvements to rural communities. These include water and waste treatment, electric power, and telecommunications services. it is ...

Personal life

In 1912, King married the suffragist Dr.

Cora Smith Eaton Cora Eliza Smith Eaton King (September 7, 1867 – November 21, 1939) was an American suffragist, physician and mountaineer. She was the first woman in North Dakota licensed to practice medicine. Early life Cora Eliza Smith was born on Septembe ...

. In 1926, he married

Bertha Hale White Bertha Hale White, was a teacher and journalist, and a prominent functionary of the Socialist Party of America. After serving for more than a decade in the party's National Office, in February 1924 White was named Executive Secretary of the SPA, b ...

, the former Executive Secretary of the

Socialist Party of America The Socialist Party of America (SPA) was a socialist political party in the United States formed in 1901 by a merger between the three-year-old Social Democratic Party of America and disaffected elements of the Socialist Labor Party of Ameri ...

Death and legacy

He died on July 4, 1958, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

White donated his papers for the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

References

External links

Library of Congress
Judson King: A Register of His Papers 1872 births 1958 deaths People from Waterford, Pennsylvania University of Michigan alumni Andrews University alumni {{US-poli-bio-stub