Dan Edward Garvey was the eighth Governor of Arizona from 1948 to 1951.

Early career

Born in Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Vicksburg is a city in Warren County, Mississippi, United States. It is the only city in Warren County. It is located northwest of New Orleans on the Mississippi and Yazoo rivers, and due west of Jackson, the state capital. In 1900, 14,834 people lived in Vicksburg; in 1910, 20,814; in 1920,...

, he graduated from St. Aloysius High School and he worked for the Illinois Central Railroad

Illinois Central Railroad

The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the central United States, with its primary routes connecting Chicago, Illinois with New Orleans, Louisiana and Birmingham, Alabama. A line also connected Chicago with Sioux City, Iowa...

. In 1909, he moved to the Arizona Territory

Arizona Territory

The Territory of Arizona was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 24, 1863 until February 14, 1912, when it was admitted to the Union as the 48th state....

 to work as a railroad accountant for Randolph Railroad Co., a company later absorbed by the Southern Pacific Railroad

Southern Pacific Railroad

The Southern Pacific Transportation Company , earlier Southern Pacific Railroad and Southern Pacific Company, and usually simply called the Southern Pacific or Espee, was an American railroad....

. Later, he entered the automobile business, but it failed during the Great Depression

Great Depression

The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...

.

Political career

Garvey was hired by the Pima County treasurer's office in 1931. He became Pima County treasurer in 1935 and Tucson

Tucson, Arizona

Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...

 city treasurer in 1938. Garvey became known throughout Arizona during the next two decades as a dedicated public servant. He moved to Phoenix

Phoenix, Arizona

Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...

 in 1940 when he was hired as assistant to Secretary of State Harry M. Moore. Upon Moore's death in 1942, Garvey was appointed to succeed him by Governor Sidney P. Osborn

Sidney Preston Osborn

Sidney Preston Osborn was the seventh Governor of Arizona and is, as of 2007, the only governor of Arizona to serve four consecutive two-year terms ....

.

Garvey assumed the governorship when Osborn died on May 25, 1948. A well-known and popular state official, Garvey won re-election on the Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 ticket in 1948. Garvey presided over one of the largest growth periods in Arizona history between 1948-1951. A large majority of Arizona newcomers were Republicans

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 and Arizona became a bona fide two-party state for the first time. Garvey was defeated in the Democratic primary in 1950 by Ana Frohmiller

Ana Frohmiller

HISTORY OF ARIZONA/biographical/volume 3/illustrated. Born at Burlington, Vermont, July 28, 1891 to M.E. and Mary Collins. One of eight children. In 1898 her family moved the Phoenix, Arizona. In 1920 was elected deputy county treasurer of Coconino County...

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At the end of his elected term as governor, Garvey was appointed Arizona administrator for the federal Reconstruction Finance Corporation

Reconstruction Finance Corporation

The Reconstruction Finance Corporation was an independent agency of the United States government, established and chartered by the US Congress in 1932, Act of January 22, 1932, c. 8, 47 Stat. 5, during the administration of President Herbert Hoover. It was modeled after the War Finance Corporation...

. In 1955, Governor Ernest W. McFarland appointed him state examiner, a post he held until his retirement in 1969.