Edwin L. Norris

Edwin L. Norris
Edwin L. Norris
5th Governor of Montana
	In office; April 1, 1908 – January 5, 1913
Lieutenant	Benjamin F. White; William R. Allen
Preceded by	Joseph Toole
Succeeded by	Sam V. Stewart
5th Lieutenant Governor of Montana
	In office; 1905–1908
Governor	Joseph Toole
Preceded by	Frank G. Higgins
Succeeded by	Benjamin F. White
Member of the Montana Senate
	In office; 1896-1900
Personal details
Born	August 15, 1865; Cumberland County, Kentucky
Died	April 25, 1924 (aged 58); Great Falls, Montana
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Southern Normal School
Occupation	Lawyer

Edwin Lee Norris (August 15, 1865 – April 25, 1924) was a Democratic politician from Montana. He served as the fifth Governor of Montana.

Biography

Norris was born in Cumberland County, Kentucky, in 1865, and graduated from the Southern Normal School, now Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green, Kentucky. He moved from Kentucky to Montana in 1888, studied law and was admitted to the Montana bar on October 8, 1889.^[1]^[2] He married Elizabeth June Wilkins. He practiced law in Dillon, Montana, and was city attorney there for five years.

Career

Norris was elected to the Montana State Senate in 1896 and served until 1900, serving as the Senate President in 1899.^[2] He served as the state's fifth Lieutenant Governor from 1905 to 1908.^[2]

He became Governor on April 1, 1908, upon the resignation of Joseph K. Toole, and was elected in his own right in the November 1908 election, serving until 1913. Norris is credited with signing state laws prohibiting discrimination by life insurance companies and making mine operators liable when employees became disabled.

Norris championed the use of prison labor to build roads in Montana. As governor, he sat on the State Board of Prison Commissioners. Thanks to his influence, prison labor built more than 230 miles of roads in Montana between 1913 and 1921.^[3]

Death

Norris died in Great Falls, Montana in 1924, where he had lived since leaving the Governor's office.^[1] He was first buried in Fairview Cemetery and later moved to New Highland Cemetery where he is still interred.

References

^ ^a ^b Stout, Tom, ed. (1921). Montana : its story and biography. Chicago and New York: The American Historical Society. pp. 674–675. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Montana Governor Edwin Lee Norris". National Governors Association. Retrieved 3 December 2014.
^ Axline, Jon (Summer 2012). "Building Permanent and Substantial Roads: Prison Labor on Montana's Highways, 1910-1925". Montana The Magazine of Western History. 62 (2): 59. Retrieved 2 January 2024.

External links

Party political offices
Preceded by Joseph Toole	Democratic nominee for Governor of Montana 1908	Succeeded by Sam V. Stewart
Political offices
Preceded by Frank G. Higgins	Lieutenant Governor of Montana 1905–1908	Succeeded by Benjamin F. White
Preceded by Joseph Toole	Governor of Montana 1908-1913	Succeeded by Sam V. Stewart

[Stout-1] Stout, Tom, ed. (1921). Montana : its story and biography. Chicago and New York: The American Historical Society. pp. 674–675. Retrieved 3 December 2014.

[NGAWeb-2] "Montana Governor Edwin Lee Norris". National Governors Association. Retrieved 3 December 2014.

[3] Axline, Jon (Summer 2012). "Building Permanent and Substantial Roads: Prison Labor on Montana's Highways, 1910-1925". Montana The Magazine of Western History. 62 (2): 59. Retrieved 2 January 2024.

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v t e Governors of Montana
Territorial (1864–1889)	Edgerton Meagher G. Smith Ashley Potts Crosby Carpenter Hauser Leslie White
State (since 1889)	Toole Rickards R. Smith Toole Norris Stewart Dixon Erickson Cooney Holt Ayers Ford Bonner Aronson Nutter Babcock Anderson Judge Schwinden Stephens Racicot Martz Schweitzer Bullock Gianforte

Authority control databases
International	VIAF FAST WorldCat
National	United States
Other	SNAC