Goodwin Knight
Goodwin Knight
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Goodwin Knight

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Goodwin Knight

Goodwin Jess "Goodie" Knight (December 9, 1896 – May 22, 1970) was an American politician and judge who served as the 31st governor of California from 1953 to 1959. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 35th lieutenant governor of California from 1947 to 1953 under Governor Earl Warren.

Knight was born in Utah and moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was a child. He followed a career in law and politics, becoming a Superior Court judge before moving into politics. He was elected lieutenant governor of California in 1946, serving under Governor Earl Warren. Upon Warren's appointment as Chief Justice of the United States by President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Knight assumed the governorship before being elected in his own right in 1954. His tenure as governor was marked by conflicts within his party. He chose not to run for a second full term as governor in 1958 and made an unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate. He attempted to make a return to the governorship in 1962, but withdrew from the race.

Knight was married twice and had two daughters. He died in 1970, shortly after the suicide of his daughter. His funeral was attended by high-profile individuals including then-California Governor Ronald Reagan and U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater.

Knight was born in Provo, Utah, but his family moved to Los Angeles when he was a boy. His father, Jesse Jasper Knight (nephew of mining magnate Jesse Knight), was a mining engineer, but Goodwin followed in the footsteps of his maternal grandfather, John B. Milner, who was a judge in Provo.

Knight attended high school in Los Angeles, at Manual Arts High School. One of his classmates was Jimmy Doolittle. He earned an A.B. in Law and Business from Stanford University, where he was a staff member of the Stanford Chaparral in 1919. Knight also attended Cornell University. He served in the U.S. Navy during World War I.

Knight was a judge of the Superior Court in Los Angeles beginning in 1935. He was reelected in 1936 and 1942 without significant opposition. His case load varied from the glamorous to the mundane. He oversaw weddings and divorces for Hollywood starlets.

Knight began his political career in 1944, when he pursued the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate. He bowed out early, though, to back Fred Houser. He was elected as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of California to serve under Governor Earl Warren in 1946, then reelected in 1950. He became governor himself when Warren resigned to become Chief Justice of the United States in 1953.

While Lieutenant Governor, he made a guest appearance on Jack Benny's radio show which aired on May 10, 1953, an episode from San Francisco. He appeared on Benny's TV show four years later, on February 10, 1957.

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