Frank Gaines Harris (April 25, 1871 – December 30, 1944) was an American Democratic politician from the state of

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

. He was the state's 33rd

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

and held that office longer than anyone else until

Peter Kinder Peter Dickson Kinder (born May 12, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 46th Lieutenant Governor of Missouri from 2005 to 2017. He was appointed as a co-chairman of the Delta Regional Authority in August 2017, serving in ...

surpassed that record, serving three terms from 2005 until 2017.

Personal history

Frank G. Harris was born in

Boone County, Missouri Boone County is located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Centrally located the state's Mid-Missouri region, its county seat is in Columbia, which is Missouri's fourth-largest city and location of the University of Missouri. As of the 2020 U.S ...

to parents Robert and Mary E. (Proctor) Harris. He received his higher education at the Kirksville Normal School (now

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a Public university, public Liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Kirksville, Missouri, United States. It had 3,664 enrolled students in the fall of 2024 pursuing degrees in 55 undergraduate ...

) and graduated from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

with an L.L.B. in Law in 1898. Harris established a law practice in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

after passing the Bar. He and his wife, Grace (Sims) Harris, were the parents of two daughters and a son.

Political history

Frank G. Harris served as Boone County Prosecuting Attorney for six years before being elected to the

Missouri General Assembly The Missouri General Assembly is the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bicameral General Assembly is composed of a 34-member Missouri Senate, Senate and a 163-member Missouri House of Represen ...

. He first served in the House of Representatives then as State Senator from the 10th district between 1915 and 1932. In 1932 he won the first of three consecutive terms as Lieutenant Governor and did not choose to run for a fourth. Harris died of heart failure shortly before the end of his third term.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Frank Gaines Lieutenant governors of Missouri University of Missouri alumni Truman State University alumni People from Boone County, Missouri Lawyers from Columbia, Missouri Democratic Party Missouri state senators 1871 births 1944 deaths Burials at Columbia Cemetery (Columbia, Missouri) 20th-century members of the Missouri General Assembly