Jack C. Walton | |
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Official photo of Governor Jack C. Walton
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5th Governor of Oklahoma | |
In office January 9, 1923 – November 19, 1923 |
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Lieutenant | Martin E. Trapp |
Preceded by | James Robertson |
Succeeded by | Martin E. Trapp |
Personal details | |
Born |
Greensboro, Indiana |
March 6, 1881
Died | November 25, 1949 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma |
(aged 68)
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Madeleine Orrick Walton |
Profession | Soldier, civil engineer, lawyer |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
John Calloway "Jack" Walton (March 6, 1881 – November 25, 1949) was an American politician and the fifth Governor of Oklahoma. He served the shortest term of any Governor of Oklahoma, being the first Governor in the state’s history to be removed from office.
Following his removal from office, he entered the primary for a seat in the United States Senate, winning the Democratic nomination, but losing to William B. Pine, a Republican He was elected to the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in 1932 and served until 1939, running for governor again in 1934 and 1938. He died in 1949 and is buried in Rose Hill Cemetery in Oklahoma City.
John Calloway Walton was born on March 6, 1881, in Greensboro, Indiana. He spent six years in Indianapolis before his family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. At the age of sixteen, Walton joined the United States Army in 1897, and served for six years. Walton did not see combat service during the Spanish–American War; however he did serve at a post in Mexico for some time.
Following his discharge from the Army in 1903, Walton traveled to Oklahoma Territory to make his life as a contractor in the field of civil engineering. Walton set up his practice in the thriving metropolis of Oklahoma City. Walton lived in Oklahoma City when Oklahoma was officially admitted to the Union on November 16, 1907, and saw the capital moved from Guthrie, Oklahoma to Oklahoma City in 1910.
Walton joined the Democratic Party and became an active participant in the state’s political matters. In 1917, under the Robert L. Williams administration, Walton was elected to his first political office. Due to his engineering experience, Walton easily won election to the office of Commissioner of Public Works of Oklahoma City. Due to his success in that office, two years later Walton was elected as the mayor of Oklahoma City, a post he served in until 1923.