Colonel William A. Phillips

Edward Wallis Hoch (March 17, 1849 – June 1, 1925)[1] was an American newspaper editor, politician and the 17th Governor of Kansas. Hoch Auditoria at the University of Kansas was named after him.

Biography

Hoch was born in Danville, Kentucky. His education was in the public schools and he attended Central University in Danville.[2] He left college before graduating, entered a newspaper office and spent three years learning to be a printer.[3]

Hoch moved to Marion, Kansas, in 1871, and homesteaded 160 acres of land. He bought the Marion County Record newspaper in 1874 and became a country editor. He married Sarah Louise Dickerson on May 23, 1876, and they had four children, two sons and two daughters.[2]

Career

Hoch was elected and served two terms in the Kansas House of Representatives (1889–91 and 1893–95). With the support of Kansas like Charles Curtis, M.A. Low, and J.S. Dean, he was elected governor in 1904[4] and reelected in 1906. During his tenure, new laws enacted included a child labor law, a pure food law, a bank guaranty law, a party primary law, a maximum freight rate bill; and improvements were sanctioned in the juvenile courts and state institutions.[5]

After leaving office, Hoch lectured on the Chautauqua circuit, becoming a well-known orator. He served on the Kansas Board of Administration from 1913 to 1919, and continued as publisher of the Marion Record until his death in Marion on June 1, 1925.[5]

References

  1. ^ Capace, Nancy (June 1, 2000). Encyclopedia of Kansas. North American Book Dist LLC. p. 264. ISBN 978-0-403-09312-0.
  2. ^ a b "Edward W. Hoch". Blue Skyways. Archived from the original on October 17, 2012. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  3. ^ Blackmar, Frank Wilson (1912). Kansas: A Cyclopedia of State History, Embracing Events, Institutions, Industries, Counties, Cities, Towns, Prominent Persons, Etc. Standard Publishing Company. pp. 848.
  4. ^ Curtis, Charles (n.d.). Autobiography. Kansas State Historical Society: Unpublished Archived Material. p. 140.
  5. ^ a b "Edward W. Hoch". National Governors Association. Retrieved September 30, 2012.

External links

Party political offices
Preceded by Republican nominee for Governor of Kansas
1904, 1906
Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of Kansas
1905–1909
Succeeded by