Scott Milne Matheson Jr. (January 8, 1929 – October 7, 1990) was an American politician who served as the 12th Governor of Utah from 1977 to 1985. He is the most recent

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to serve in that position.

Biography

Matheson was born on January 8, 1929, in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Latter-day Saint Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, the principal branch of the Latter Day Saint movement started by Joseph Smith in upstate New York during the 1820s. After Smith's death in 1844, the movement split into several ...

parents

Scott Milne Scott Edward Milne (born March 10, 1959) is an American businessman and political candidate from North Pomfret, Vermont. A Republican, Milne was the party's nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Vermont in 2020, losing to Democrat Molly Gray; the ...

and Adele Adams Matheson. His paternal grandparents were Scottish immigrants and his maternal grandfather was born to parents from Northern Ireland and England. Soon after his birth, the family moved to

Utah Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...

, settling first in Parowan, before moving to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With a population of 200,133 in 2020, th ...

, when his father became a federal prosecutor. Matheson graduated from Salt Lake City's East High School in 1946, earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the

University of Utah The University of Utah (U of U, UofU, or simply The U) is a public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah. It is the flagship institution of the Utah System of Higher Education. The university was established in 1850 as the University of De ...

in 1950, and a law degree from Stanford University Law School in 1952. He operated a private law practice in

Iron County, Utah Iron County is a county in southwestern Utah, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 46,163. Its county seat is Parowan, and the largest city is Cedar City. The Cedar City, UT Micropolitan Statistical Area inc ...

, for five years before taking a position with

Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad , legally Union Pacific Railroad Company and often called simply Union Pacific, is a freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Paci ...

in 1958. During his service with the railroad he rose to the position of

general counsel A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department. In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...

before making his 1976 run for governor. During his term as governor, Matheson was named the defendant in the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

case of '' H. L. v. Matheson'', which upheld state law requiring parental consent for a teenage girl to obtain an abortion. On August 25, 1951, he married Norma Louise Warenski, and the couple had four children. One is former U.S. Congressman

Jim Matheson James David Matheson (born March 21, 1960) is an American politician who served as a United States Representative from Utah from 2001 to 2015. He represented Utah's 2nd district from 2001 to 2013 and its from 2013 to 2015 as a member of the De ...

. Another son,

Scott Matheson Jr. Scott Milne Matheson Jr. (born Scott Milne Matheson III; July 15, 1953) is a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. He has served on that court since 2010. A native of ...

, was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Utah in the 2004 election, and was appointed as a federal judge in 2010. In 1989, Matheson was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a rare form of cancer believed to have been caused by

radioactive fallout Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...

from nuclear testing in

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

. Scott Matheson died from the disease on October 7, 1990, at the age of 61. He was buried in Parowan City Cemetery in

Parowan, Utah Parowan ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Iron County, Utah, United States. The population was 2,790 at the 2010 census, and in 2018 the estimated population was 3,100. Parowan became the first incorporated city in Iron County in 1851. A ...

References

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External links

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Matheson, Scott M. 1929 births 1990 deaths Deaths from cancer in Utah Deaths from multiple myeloma Democratic Party governors of Utah Latter Day Saints from Utah People from Parowan, Utah Politicians from Chicago Politicians from Salt Lake City Lawyers from Chicago Lawyers from Salt Lake City Stanford Law School alumni Union Pacific Railroad people University of Utah alumni 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century American politicians