Frank Merriam
| Frank Merriam | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| 28th Governor of California | |
|
In office June 2, 1934 – January 2, 1939 |
|
| Lieutenant | George J. Hatfield |
| Preceded by | James Rolph |
| Succeeded by | Culbert Olson |
| 31st Lieutenant Governor of California | |
|
In office January 5, 1931 – June 2, 1934 |
|
| Governor | James Rolph |
| Preceded by | H. L. Carnahan |
| Succeeded by | George J. Hatfield |
| Member of the Iowa House of Representatives | |
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In office 1896–1898 |
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| Personal details | |
| Born |
Frank Finley Merriam December 22, 1865 Hopkinton, Iowa |
| Died | April 25, 1955 (aged 89) Long Beach, California |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Elnora Hitchcock, Mary Ella "Nellie" Day, Jessie Millisack Lipsey |
| Profession | Journalist, Politician |
| Religion | Presbyterianism |
Frank Finley Merriam (December 22, 1865 – April 25, 1955) was an American politician who served as the 28th governor of California from June 2, 1934 until January 2, 1939. Assuming the governorship at the height of the Great Depression following the death of Governor James Rolph, Merriam famously defeated former Socialist Party member and Democratic candidate for Governor Upton Sinclair in the 1934 general elections. Merriam also served as the Iowa State Auditor 1900–1903, and served in the Iowa and California state legislatures.
Born in 1865 in Hopkinton, Iowa, the eldest of 11 children. His father Henry C. Merriam and his paternal uncle Charles E. Merriam had enlisted, in 1861, in the 12th Iowa Infantry, Company K, and both were captured at the Battle of Shiloh; both served time in Libby Prison, and both returned to Iowa. Frank Finley Merriam spent nearly half of his life in his home state and the Midwest.
After graduating from Lenox College at Hopkinton in 1888, Merriam served as the principal of the Hopkinton schools for two years and superintendent of schools at Postville for one year. He was a school superintendent in Wisner, Nebraska He next became the editor of the Hopkinton Leader, a newspaper.
In 1904, he moved to Muskogee, Oklahoma, where he owned and published the Muskogee Evening Times. He moved to Long Beach California in 1910 with his second wife, Nellie, to attend to family obligations. There he worked in the advertising department of the Long Beach Press.
Merriam was elected to the Iowa House of Representatives as a Republican at the age of 31 in 1896. Two years later, Merriam was elected as Iowa State Auditor, a post he would hold until 1903. In 1910 at the age of 44, Merriam moved to California. Following seven years of living in the state, Merriam was elected to the California State Assembly in 1916, representing the Long Beach area, beginning his rise in California politics.
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