US Congressman, 22nd Governor of California (1907 to 1911). Raised in Sparta, Wisconsin, Gillett studied law on his own and was admitted to the bar in 1881. He was an attorney in the Montana and Washington Territories before settling in Eureka, Humboldt County, California in 1884. From 1889 to 1895 he was Eureka's City Attorney, and was a member of the State Senate from 1897 to 1900. A Republican, he was twice elected to represent California's 1st District in the US House of Representatives, serving from 1903 to 1906. Gillett's 1906 bid for California Governor was controversial. The incumbent, George Pardee, was very popular with constituents but alienated the Republican Party by opposing the monopolistic practices of the Southern Pacific Railroad; he was denied renomination in favor of Gillett, who had a railroad-friendly record. One San Francisco newspaper trumpeted the decision as "The Shame of California" and from then on political cartoonists (including George Herriman of future "Krazy Kat" fame) would depict Gillett as a mule or some other beast lashed about by big business interests. He nevertheless won the election on November 4, 1906, and resigned his Congressional seat the same day. During his single term as Governor he pioneered the California State highway system by signing the State Highway Bond Act (1909), passed new food and drug safety laws, reformed the State parole system, and funded the construction of new government buildings, many in earthquake-ravaged San Francisco. But he suffered personal financial losses in that period and chose not to seek reelection in 1910. Gillett established a new practice in San Francisco and represented the oil industry as both an attorney and lobbyist. He died in Berkeley. There is a cenotaph for him at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California, where the ashes of his first wife Adelaide (died 1896) are entombed.
US Congressman, 22nd Governor of California (1907 to 1911). Raised in Sparta, Wisconsin, Gillett studied law on his own and was admitted to the bar in 1881. He was an attorney in the Montana and Washington Territories before settling in Eureka, Humboldt County, California in 1884. From 1889 to 1895 he was Eureka's City Attorney, and was a member of the State Senate from 1897 to 1900. A Republican, he was twice elected to represent California's 1st District in the US House of Representatives, serving from 1903 to 1906. Gillett's 1906 bid for California Governor was controversial. The incumbent, George Pardee, was very popular with constituents but alienated the Republican Party by opposing the monopolistic practices of the Southern Pacific Railroad; he was denied renomination in favor of Gillett, who had a railroad-friendly record. One San Francisco newspaper trumpeted the decision as "The Shame of California" and from then on political cartoonists (including George Herriman of future "Krazy Kat" fame) would depict Gillett as a mule or some other beast lashed about by big business interests. He nevertheless won the election on November 4, 1906, and resigned his Congressional seat the same day. During his single term as Governor he pioneered the California State highway system by signing the State Highway Bond Act (1909), passed new food and drug safety laws, reformed the State parole system, and funded the construction of new government buildings, many in earthquake-ravaged San Francisco. But he suffered personal financial losses in that period and chose not to seek reelection in 1910. Gillett established a new practice in San Francisco and represented the oil industry as both an attorney and lobbyist. He died in Berkeley. There is a cenotaph for him at Forest Lawn in Glendale, California, where the ashes of his first wife Adelaide (died 1896) are entombed.
Bio by: Bobb Edwards
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