Harry Hines Woodring
| Harry H. Woodring | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 53rd United States Secretary of War | |
|
In office September 25, 1936 – June 20, 1940 |
|
| President | Franklin D. Roosevelt |
| Preceded by | George H. Dern |
| Succeeded by | Henry L. Stimson |
| 25th Governor of Kansas | |
|
In office January 12, 1931 – January 9, 1933 |
|
| Lieutenant | Jacob W. Graybill |
| Preceded by | Clyde M. Reed |
| Succeeded by | Alfred M. Landon |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
May 31, 1887 Elk City, Kansas, U.S. |
| Died | September 9, 1967 (aged 80) Topeka, Kansas, United States |
| Resting place | Mount Hope Cemetery in Topeka, Kansas U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Helen Coolidge Woodring |
| Alma mater | Lebanon Business University |
| Profession | Accountant, banker, soldier |
| Religion | Disciples of Christ |
| Military service | |
| Service/branch | United States Army |
| Rank | Second Lieutenant |
| Battles/wars | World War I |
Harry Hines Woodring (May 31, 1887 – September 9, 1967) was an American politician. A Democrat, he was the 25th Governor of Kansas and was Secretary of War in President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's administration from 1936 to 1940. He was also the United States Assistant Secretary of War from 1933 to 1936.
Harry Hines Woodring was born in 1887 in Elk City, Kansas, the son of farmer and Union Army soldier Hines Woodring. He was educated in city and county schools and at sixteen began work as a janitor in the First National Bank of Neodesha, Kansas. He attended Lebanon Business University for one year, which gained him employment as a bookkeeper and assistant cashier of the First National Bank in Elk City.
Woodring soon became assistant cashier at the First National Bank of Neodesha. Woodring moved up quickly to become vice president and owner of the bank until he enlisted as a private in the US Army. He was later commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Tank Corps in World War I. He was elected department commander of the American Legion in Kansas then in 1928 he sold his banking business to enter politics.
Woodring won the Kansas gubernatorial election of 1930 in a controversial three-way race with Republican Frank Haucke and write-in candidate and goat-gland transplantation specialist, Dr. John Brinkley. Brinkley won the most votes, but the state only counted ballots with J. R. Brinkley written in, disqualifying tens of thousands of ballots with variants like John Brinkley written in. Woodring himself admitted he would have lost, had all Brinkley's votes been counted. Woodring served as governor of Kansas from 1931 to 1933. As the only Democrat elected to a statehouse office, his efforts to cut expenditures were largely blocked by Republicans, so he cut his own salary and the Highway Department, the one place where Democrats had control.
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