Frank R. Gooding
Frank Robert Gooding (September 16, 1859 – June 24, 1928) was a Republican United States Senator and the seventh Governor of Idaho. The city of Gooding and Gooding County, both in southern Idaho, are named for him.
Born in Devonshire, England, Gooding emigrated to the United States with his family in 1867. The family settled on a farm near Paw Paw, Michigan. Gooding attended the common schools there, and moved to Mount Shasta, California in 1877, and engaged in farming and mining.
Gooding moved to the Idaho Territory in 1881, and was one of the largest sheep owners in Idaho. He settled in Ketchum where he worked as a mail carrier, and subsequently engaged in the firewood and charcoal business. In 1888 he settled near present-day Gooding.
After Idaho became a state in 1890, Gooding emerged as a leader of the conservative faction of the Idaho Republican Party. Gooding was a powerful figure in Idaho in the early 20th Century, as demonstrated by the fact that the city of Gooding and Gooding County were both named after him in his lifetime.
Gooding was named chairman of the Idaho Lincoln County Republicans in 1896. He was elected to the Idaho Legislature in 1898, and elected Governor of Idaho in 1904 before he became a United States citizen.
Gooding had a reputation for having an off-putting and abrasive personality, and often clashed with others in the Republican Party, notably progressive Senator William E. Borah.
From 1905 to 1909, Gooding served as Governor of Idaho. During his administration the Idaho State Capitol building in Boise was constructed.
In 1918 Gooding was the Republican nominee in a special U.S. Senate election to complete the term of James H. Brady, who died in office early in the year. Gooding was defated by Democrat John F. Nugent.
In 1920 Gooding defeated Nugent for a full six-year term in the Senate. He took office in January 1921 two months before his term began to replace Nugent, who resigned to accept an appointment on the Federal Trade Commission.
Gooding was reelected in 1926 by defeating Nugent again. He died in office in 1928 and was succeeded by a political protégé, John W. Thomas.
Gooding is buried in Elmwood Cemetery in Gooding.
Read more about Frank R. Gooding: The Steunenberg Assassination, Idaho School For The Deaf and The Blind
Famous quotes containing the word frank:
“When I was your age I went to bed right after supper. Sometimes I went to bed before supper. Sometimes I went without supper and didn’t go to bed at all.”
—S.J. Perelman, U.S. screenwriter, Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby, and Norman Z. McLeod. Groucho Marx, Horsefeathers, a wisecrack made to his son Frank (Zeppo Marx)