Herbert Brown Maw was an American politician

Politics of the United States

The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States , Congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments.The executive branch is headed by the President...

 and the eighth Governor of Utah. He served as governor from 1941 to 1949. He was a Democrat.

He was a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Early life

Maw was born in Ogden

Ogden

-Surname:* Aaron Ogden, governor of New Jersey* Bud Ogden, American professional basketball player* Carlos C. Ogden, American Medal of Honor recipient* Charles Ogden * Charles Kay Ogden, Cambridge University linguist, inventor of Basic English...

, Utah. When he was seven his family moved to Salt Lake City. He studied at LDS High School

LDS High School

LDS High School was a secondary school located in Salt Lake City, Utah operated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The school was closely associated with Latter-day Saints' University, the last vestiges of which are now LDS Business College...

 as a youth.

Education

Maw received his LLB and BS from the University of Utah

University of Utah

The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...

, an MA from Northwestern University

Northwestern University

Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....

 in 1926 and a JD also from Northwestern in 1927.

Military

Maw was trained as a pilot by the Aviation Corps during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

 at Kelley Air Base in Texas. Before he was deployed in this service he was made an LDS Chaplain with the rank of First Lieutenant and assigned to work with the 89th Division at Camp Funston

Camp Funston

Camp Funston is located on Fort Riley, and is located southwest of Manhattan, Kansas. The camp was named for Brigadier General Frederick Funston . Camp Funston was one of sixteen Divisional Cantonment Training Camps established at the outbreak of World War I...

, Kansas

Kansas

Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...

. He was then sent to Europe and after the end of the war served in the Army of Occupation in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

.
Maw was one of only three LDS chaplains in the US Military during World War I.

Early career

Maw taught at LDS Business College

LDS Business College

LDS Business College is a two-year college in Salt Lake City, Utah, focused on training students in business and industry. The college is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and operates under the Church Educational System and is associated with the Brigham Young University...

 from 1916 to 1917 and from 1919 to 1923. He was a professor of speech at the University of Utah from 1927 until 1940. Maw served as Dean of Men at the University of Utah from 1928 until 1936. Maw was influential on the development of the University of Utah and its future course.

Political career

Maw was elected to the Utah State Senate in 1928 where he served until 1938. Maw served as the President of the Utah State Senate from 1934 until 1938. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic nomination for the US Senate in 1934 and Governor in 1936. His loss was partly a result of his strong support of measures to help workers. Maw's winning the Democratic nomination in 1940 was largely the result of his successful push for direct primaries.

Maw was first elected governor of Utah in 1940, defeating Republican Don B. Colton

Don B. Colton

Don Byron Colton was a U.S. Representative from Utah.Born near Mona, Juab County, Utah Territory, Colton moved with his parents to Uintah County, Utah Territory in 1879....

. While serving as governor Maw pushed through reductions in the utility rates and regulations on ore extraction in the state.

In 1944 Maw was narrowly re-elected over Republican J. Bracken Lee

J. Bracken Lee

Joseph Bracken Lee was a political figure in the state of Utah, United States. A Republican, he served two terms as the ninth Governor of Utah , six two-year terms as mayor of Price, Utah , and three terms as the 27th mayor of Salt Lake City ., Lee is the most recent Governor of Utah who was not a...

 in the closest gubernatorial election in Utah History. In 1948 Maw lost to Lee in a re-match. In This election Maw was a clear and consistent opponent of liberalizing Utah's drinking laws.

Religious life

Like most Latter-day Saints Maw held many callings in the Church. He was a Sunday School teacher in both Salt Lake City and Chicago. He also taught in the YMMIA and was a ward and stake leader of that organization. In 1928-1929 he was the Superintendent of the Liberty Stake Sunday School, during which years he was also a member of the stake high council. From 1928 to 1935 Maw was a member of the general board of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. In December 1935 Maw became a member of the Deseret Sunday School Union General Board.

External links

• Herbert Brown Maw from Utah History Encyclopedia