Campbell; Thomas Mitchell, 1856-1923

Dates:
Birth 1856
Death 1923

Biographical notes:

Thomas Mitchell Campbell (1856-1923), lawyer, general manager of the International-Great Northern Railroad, and governor of Texas, graduated from Trinity University and passed the Texas bar in 1878.

He began his practice in Longview, Texas, in the same year. In 1889, Campbell became master chancery for the financially distressed International-Great Northern Railroad in Palestine, Texas. Campbell guided the railroad through its recovery, becoming its general manager in 1891. Distrusting big businesses, Campbell eventually clashed with the railroad's owner Jay Gould and left the railroad to resume his law practice in 1897. Campbell, upon the encouragement of his friend, former governor James S. Hogg, ran for governor, winning the office in 1906 on an anti-trust platform.

Campbell served as governor for two terms (1907-1911) and affected reforms such as railroads regulations, anti-trust laws, lobbying restrictions, food and drug regulations, prison reform, and insurance laws.

Furthermore, Campbell helped create many state agencies, such as the Department of Insurance and Banking, Bureau of Labor Statistics, State Board of Health, and the Texas State Library. In 1911, Campbell returned to his private practice, but remained active in politics, unsuccessfully running for the United States Senate in 1916. Campbell died in Galveston in 1923.

From the description of Campbell, Thomas Mitchell, Papers, 1898-1923 (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 705917875

Links to collections

Comparison

This is only a preview comparison of Constellations. It will only exist until this window is closed.

  • Added or updated
  • Deleted or outdated

Information

Permalink:
SNAC ID:

Subjects:

  • Governor
  • Insurance

Occupations:

not available for this record

Places:

  • Texas (as recorded)
  • Texas (as recorded)
  • Longview (Tex.) (as recorded)
  • Palestine (Tex.) (as recorded)