January 30, 1900: The apparent Governor-elect of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is shot. He is sworn in the next day, but dies 3 days later. He remains the only sitting Governor of any State to die through assassination.
Wilhelm Justus Goebel was born on January 4, 1856 in Laporte, Pennsylvania, the son of German immigrants. Although he only spoke German until going to school at age 6, he embraced his Americanness, emphasized by his father having fought with the Union Army during the Civil War, and eventually anglicized his first name to "William" -- although not his last name to "Gable."
After being discharged from the Army, his father moved the family to Covington, Kentucky, across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, Ohio. William studied law under a Governor of Kentucky, John W. Stevenson, well before running for the office himself. He never married. He was elected to the State Senate in 1887, by just 56 votes. But he kept winning, and in 1894 was named the Senate's President Pro Tempore.
On April 11, 1895, in Covington, Goebel fought a pistol duel with John Sandford, a banker whom he blamed for being denied a judgeship. Sandford's bullet passed through Goebel's coat, while Goebel shot Sandford in the head, and he died 5 hours later. Goebel pleaded self-defense, and was acquitted of murder.
In 1899, Goebel ran for Governor as the Democratic Party's nominee. The Republican nominee was William S. Taylor, the State's Attorney General. On November 7, Taylor won by 2,383 votes, a margin small enough to call for a recount. On December 12, before this could happen, Taylor was inaugurated as Governor.
The lower house of the State legislature, the General Assembly, controlled by Democrats, invalidated enough Republican ballots to give the election to Goebel, and Taylor's inauguration was declared invalid. The Assembly's Republican minority was incensed, as were voters in traditionally Republican districts. For several days, the state hovered on the brink of a possible civil war.
Flanked by two bodyguards, Goebel walked to what is now known as the Old State Capitol, in Frankfort, on the morning of January 30, 1900. Conflicting reports describe what happened next, but either 5 or 6 shots were fired from the nearby State Building, one striking Goebel in the chest, seriously wounding him.
The next day, in the hospital, Goebel was sworn in as Governor. In his only official act, Goebel signed a proclamation to dissolve the militia called up by Taylor, which was ignored by the militia's Republican commander. Despite the care of 18 physicians, Goebel died the afternoon of February 3, 1900, at the age of 44. Although he wasn't shot while he was Governor, he remains the only American Governor to die in office as the result of an assassination.
The Kentucky Court of Appeals ruled that the General Assembly had acted legally in declaring Goebel the winner of the election. That decision was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States. On May 21, the Justices decided by an 8-1 vote to not hear the case of Taylor v. Beckham, effectively saying that the State government had the final say.
Lieutenant Governor J.C.W. (John Crepps Wickliffe) Beckham was sworn in as Governor, and was re-elected in 1903. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1914, but defeated for re-election in the Republican landslide of 1920. He died in 1940, at the age of 70.
Taylor, figuring (correctly) that suspicion would fall on him, fled to Indianapolis. The Governor of Indiana, a fellow Republican named James Mount -- apparently, no relation to Indiana native, and Purdue University and Indiana Pacers basketball star Rick Mount -- refused to extradite him.
His Secretary of State, Caleb Powers, was convicted of orchestrating the assassination. An appeals court overturned it, and, in 1909, the next Republican Governor of Kentucky, Augustus E. Wilson, pardoned Taylor and Powers. Powers was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1910, '12, '14 and '16, choosing not to run again in 1918. He died in 1932, at 63. Taylor rarely returned to Kentucky, living in Indianapolis, and died there in 1928, at 74.
The actual shooter has never been definitively identified.
*
January 30, 1900 was a Monday. There were no scores on this historic day: Baseball and football were out of season, hockey was all-amateur, and basketball barely existed.
No comments:
Post a Comment