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Historical records matching Governor David Sholtz
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About Governor David Sholtz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Sholtz
David Sholtz (October 6, 1891 – March 21, 1953) was the 26th Governor of Florida.
Early life and education
Sholtz was born to Jewish parents in Brooklyn, New York, and after graduating from Yale, where he was a member of the Acacia Fraternity, in 1914 he went on and earned a law degree from Stetson University Law School. With his law degree, he started a law practice in Daytona Beach, Florida. He married Alice May Agee, with whom he had three children. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War I.
Political career
Sholtz entered politics when he became a one-term member of the Florida House of Representatives in 1917. After that, he was a State's Attorney from 1919 to 1921, and he became a city judge in 1921. Taking the oath on January 4, 1933, he became governor during the Great Depression. During his tenure as governor, he established the Florida Park Service and Florida Citrus Commission, passed a workers' compensation law, mandated free textbooks in public schools, and funded salaries for public school teachers. While in office, he was a strong advocate of governmental restructuring.
After leaving the Governor's Mansion on January 5, 1937, Sholtz unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1938, losing the Democratic primary to Claude Pepper. He spent most of his time in New York after his term as governor, but he retained his residency in Florida. He died while visiting Key West, Florida in 1953 and is buried at the Cedar Hill Memory Gardens in Daytona Beach, Florida.
26th Florida Governor. He was elected during the Great Depression; the son of Jewish immigrates from New York, and for these reasons, considered to be Florida’s darkest dark horse candidate to run for the office of Florida Governor. He graduated with honors from Yale University the class of 1915 and the next year, earned his law degree from Stetson University in Deland, Florida. His parents had relocated from New York to Daytona Beach, Florida in the early 1900’s. Sholtz started his law practice there. He was of the Episcopalian by faith. He entered politics as a one-term member of the Florida House of Representatives. He left the practice during World War I to serve as an ensign in the Navy. In 1921, he resumed his Daytona Beach practice and married Alice Mae Agee in 1925. They had one son of their own and three adopted children. He was very active in local politics and affairs. In 1927, he became the President of the Florida State Chamber of Commerce, which gave him the opportunity to network and be known throughout the state. At the time of this election, the state did not have a balanced budget, which was against the state law; 151 towns were bankrupted; a third of the citizens of Tampa were unemployed; and the present governor had refused any Federal aid. Eight men were running for the office of Governor in the Democratic primary election and two of those were former governors. He came in second in the primary, while former Governor John W. Martin placed first. Martin began a smear campaign by bringing out Sholtz’ Jewish ancestry, but in the end that backfired. Sholtz did not campaign dirty but continue to talk with the people and sincerely listen to them. No one thought he had a chance, yet the darkest of dark horse candidate won the nomination by the greatest majority ever garnered in the history of the state to that time: Sholtz had 173,540 votes to Martin's 102,805. Sholtz easily swamped his Republican opponent, W. J. Howey, in the November election. He took the oath of office on January 4, 1933. He had the strong support of President F. D. Roosevelt and Florida received the much needed federal aid. He accomplished a great deal while governor: Increased teacher’s paychecks, free books in public schools, started the Florida High Patrol, cut unemployment by 75%, reformed prisons, started unemployment benefits, and balanced the Florida budget in three years. Others achievements were establishing the state park and conservation commission, the citrus commission, welfare system, and pensions for the aged and blind. When he had finished his constitutionally-restricted one term in 1936, Florida had become one of the few states in the country moving rapidly toward economic recovery. After leaving the Governor's Mansion on January 5, 1937, he unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 1938, losing the Democratic primary to Claude Pepper, who won serving the State of Florida in U. S. Senate and Congress for a total of 53 years. While maintaining a legal residence in Florida, Sholtz spent much of his time in New York after leaving the governor's office. He died while visiting the Florida Keys. The single runway airport at Daytona Beach, Sholtz Field, was named as a tribute to the governor; today it is Daytona Beach International Airport.* Reference: Find A Grave Memorial - SmartCopy: Dec 16 2021, 3:41:07 UTC
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Governor David Sholtz's Timeline
| 1891 |
October 6, 1891
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Brooklyn, Kings County (Brooklyn), New York, USA, Kings County, New York, United States
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| 1953 |
March 21, 1953
Age 61
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Daytona Beach, Volusia County, Florida, USA, Key West, Monroe County, Florida, United States
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Daytona Memorial Park, Daytona Beach, Volusia County, Florida, USA
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