Wilbur Lucius Cross
Wilbur Lucius Cross | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 71stGovernor of Connecticut | |
| In office January 7, 1931 – January 4, 1939 | |
| Lieutenant | Samuel R. Spencer Roy C. Wilcox T. Frank Hayes |
| Preceded by | John H. Trumbull |
| Succeeded by | Raymond E. Baldwin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 10, 1862 Mansfield, Connecticut,U.S. |
| Died | October 5, 1948(aged 86) New Haven, Connecticut,U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Helen Baldwin Avery Cross |
| Children | Wilbur Lucius Cross, Jr. Avery Cross Elizabeth Cross Arthur Cross Wilbur Cross III(grandson) |
| Alma mater | Yale University |
| Profession | Literary critic, editor, author, politician |
Wilbur Lucius Cross(April 10, 1862 – October 5, 1948) was an American literary critic who served as the71st governor of Connecticutfrom 1931 to 1939.
Biography[edit]
Born in 1862 inMansfield,Cross attendedNatchaug SchoolinWillimantic.He graduated fromYale Collegewith a B.A. in 1885 and served as principal ofStaples High SchoolinWestportfor a short time before returning to Yale as a graduate student, earning a PhD in English literature in 1889. Cross spent several years as a high school principal and schoolteacher at Staples High School in Westport before being offered a job as a professor of English at Yale in 1894. Over the next 36 years, he taught at Yale, became editor of the Yale Review,Sterling Professor of Englishin 1922, and Dean of theYale Graduate Schoolfrom 1916 to 1930.[1][2]On July 17, 1889, he was married to Helen Baldwin Avery, and they had four children; Wilbur Lucius Cross, Jr., Avery Cross, Elizabeth Cross, and Arthur Cross.[3]
Cross became a well-knownliterary critic.Along withC. F. Tucker Brooke,Cross was the editor of the YaleShakespeare;he also edited theYale Reviewfor almost 30 years. He wrote several books, includingLife and Times of Laurence Sterne(1909) andThe History of Henry Fielding(1918), and several books on the English novel.
After retiring from Yale, Cross was elected governor ofConnecticutas aDemocratin 1930 and served as Governor for four two-year terms, from January 7, 1931, to January 4, 1939. He was a Delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Connecticut in 1936.[4]He was defeated in 1938 in his attempt to gain re-election for a fifth term. He is credited with passage of several items of reform legislation during his tenure of governor, which included measures related to the abolition ofchild labor,and instituted a minimum wage rate. Also there was legislation that authorized governmental reorganization, and improved factory laws. He also endorsed legislation that authorized funding for the rebuilding of the Connecticut State College, which included the construction of the first campus library, named the Cross Library.
During his tenure, eugenicist Harry H. Laughlin served on a commission proposing radicaleugenicpolicies; these policies were never implemented.[5]
Cross was elected to theAmerican Philosophical Societyin 1934.[6]
After retiring from public service, he continued to stay active in his writing and research projects.[7]
Death and legacy[edit]
Cross died on October 5, 1948, inNew Havenat the age of 86. He is interred atEvergreen Cemetery.[8]
Wilbur Cross High Schoolin New Haven, Wilbur Cross School inBridgeport,and Connecticut'sWilbur Cross ParkwayandWilbur Cross Highwaywere named in his honor, as was Yale'sWilbur L. Cross Medal,awarded for outstanding achievement in professional life. The first campus library at theUniversity of Connecticut(then Connecticut State College), built with bond revenues authorized during Cross's governorship and opened in 1939, was named for Cross in 1942.
Wilbur Cross's autobiography,Connecticut Yankee,was published in 1943.
See also[edit]
Footnotes[edit]
- ^"Wilbur Lucius Cross".Connecticut State Library.RetrievedDecember 16,2012.
- ^"Guide to the Wilbur Lucius Cross Papers".Yale University Library.hdl:10079/fa/mssa.ms.0155.MS 155.
- ^"Wilbur Lucius Cross".NNDB Soylent Communications.RetrievedDecember 16,2012.
- ^"Wilbur Lucius Cross".The Political Graveyard.RetrievedDecember 16,2012.
- ^Paul Bass, "Cross Era's Dark Secret Resurfaces"New Haven Independent, Sept. 24, 2014.
- ^"APS Member History".search.amphilsoc.org.RetrievedJune 12,2023.
- ^"Wilbur Lucius Cross".National Governors Association.RetrievedDecember 16,2012.
- ^"Informativa per l'utenza: il sito cslib.org diventerà truffa.net".
Works[edit]
- Proclamations of His Excellency Wilbur L. Cross, Governor of the State of Connecticut.Hartford, CT: Prospect Press, 1937.
- Connecticut Yankee: An Autobiography.New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1943.
External links[edit]
- Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
- Governor Cross Lent Name To Library
- The Political Graveyard
- Connecticut State Library
- National Governors Association
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