Elliott Woolfolk Major (October 20, 1864 – July 9, 1949) was an American lawyer and progressive Democratic politician from

Pike County, Missouri Pike County is a County (United States), county on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Missouri, bounded by the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,587. Its county seat is Bowling Green ...

, who served as the 25th

Attorney General of Missouri The Office of the Missouri Attorney General was created in 1806 when Missouri was part of the Louisiana Territory. Missouri's first Constitution in 1820 provided for an appointed attorney general, but since the 1865 Constitution, the Attorney Gen ...

and the 33rd

Governor of Missouri A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Biography

Born in 1864 in

Lincoln County, Missouri Lincoln County is located in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population was 59,574. Its county seat is Troy. The county was founded December 14, 1818, and named for Major General Benjamin Lincoln ...

, Elliott Major attended Lincoln County public schools. He then went to Watson Seminary in Pike County. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1885. Major's political rise began with a seat in the

Missouri Senate The Missouri Senate is the upper chamber of the Missouri General Assembly. It has 34 members, representing districts with an average population of 181,000. Its members serve four-year terms, with half the seats being up for election every two yea ...

, which he held between 1897 and 1901. Between 1909 and 1913 he was

. In November 1912 he was elected the new governor of his state. Major took up his new post on January 13, 1913. Several new agencies emerged in Missouri during his four-year tenure. These included the Highway Commission, a pardon committee, assistance to the blind, and a public services committee. In addition, the state

flag of Missouri The flag of Missouri, often referred to as the Missouri flag, is the state flag of the U.S. state of Missouri. It consists of a triband of three equal horizontal stripes colored red, white, and blue, with the arms from the Great Seal of Miss ...

was officially presented and introduced at that time, and various labor laws were introduced, together with other reforms such as a law aimed at providing free school textbooks.The Messages and Proclamations of the Governors of the State of Missouri compiled and edited by Buel Leopard, A.M., and Floyd C. Shoemaker, A.M., secretary of State historical society of Missouri... v. 11, P.53
/ref> After his tenure ended in January 1917, Major retired from politics and returned to practice as a lawyer. His office was in

St. Louis St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...

. He was married to Elizabeth Myers, with whom he had three children. He died on July 9, 1949, in Eureka, Missouri, and was buried in the Bowling Green City Cemetery at

Bowling Green, Missouri Bowling Green is a city and the county seat of Pike County, Missouri, United States. The population was 5,334 at the 2010 census. History Bowling Green was settled in 1819, and designated county seat in 1824. Settled chiefly by migrants from K ...

References

External links

* * 1864 births 1949 deaths Democratic Party governors of Missouri Missouri attorneys general Politicians from St. Louis County, Missouri People from Lincoln County, Missouri 19th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly {{Missouri-politician-stub