John Calhoun Phillips
John Calhoun Phillips ( born November 13, 1870 Vermont, Illinois, † June 25, 1943 in Flagstaff, Arizona ) was an American politician ( Republican) and 1929-1931 Governor of the State of Arizona.
Early years and political rise
Born on a farm John Phillips graduated in 1893 at Hedding College, Abingdon, then studied law at the Sprague Correspondence School and was admitted to the Bar in 1896 from Illinois. Then he opened his own law practice in Vermont. In 1898, he moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he also founded his own law practice. Four years later he was elected restructuring judge, an office which he held until 1912. Among the new sovereignty laws he became the first judge of the Maricopa County Superior Court
Phillips decided to pursue a political career in the 1920s. He was a candidate for a position in the House of Representatives from Arizona and remained there after his election of 1916 to 1922. He then moved to the Senate from Arizona, where he worked from 1922 to 1924.
Governor of Arizona
On November 6, 1928, Phillips was elected as the new governor of Arizona, and sworn in on January 7, 1929. During his tenure, the Free County Library System was created, the Colorado River Commission established, and made the first sketches of the State Bureau of Criminal Identification. He advocated conservation laws that ultimately led to the creation of the new Arizona Game and Fish Department. Furthermore, Phillips administration was blamed for Arizona's volatile economic conditions, which were a result of the Great Depression. He stood as a candidate in 1930 for reelection, but was defeated by former Democratic Governor George WP Hunt, so he left office on January 5, 1931.
Further CV
After his term as governor, he retired from public life and returned to his work in his law practice. He took his son on as a partner. During a fishing trip Phillips suffered a heart attack and died on June 25, 1943. He was buried in Phoenix.
He was married to Minne Rexroat; the couple had four children together.