John Burley Swainson (1925 - 1994)

Born 31 Jul 1925 in Windsor, Essex, Ontario, Canada

Ancestors

Died 13 May 1994 at age 68 in Manchester, Washtenaw, Michigan, United States

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Preceded by 41st Governor G. Mennen Williams

John Swainson 42nd Governor of Michigan 1949—1961

Succeeded by 43rd Governor George Romney

Biography

John Swainson is Notable.

John Swainson was born in Windsor, Ontario in July of 1925. He moved with his family to Port Huron, Michigan when he was two years old.

After enlisting in the US Army in September of 1943, John became an American citizen on January 10, 1944. In November of that year, while fighting with his unit in Europe, he lost both his legs in a land mine explosion.

He would teach himself to walk again, earn a law degree, and rise through the ranks of the Michigan Democratic Party to become Governor of Michigan in 1960. His bid for re-election in 1962 was thwarted by the Republican, George Romney.

He returned to his law practice, eventually becoming a judge and then a justice on the Michigan Supreme Court. He was being touted for a run for the US Senate when his political career was derailed by a bribery scandal. He was cleared of the bribery charges but was found guilty of misleading the Grand Jury and he was forced to resign his position on the court. Many observers felt that he was a victim of an overzealous prosecutor and by 1985 his reputation had been restored and he was named chairman of the Michigan Historical Commission.

Governor Swainson died of a heart attack in 1994.

Sources

• 1940 US Federal Census, Michigan, St Clair, Port Huron, 74-51, pg. 1 of 54.

• Georgia, Naturalization Records, 1793-1991, Columbus Petitions, Columbus Naturalization Petitions 1/1943 - 1/1944 (Box 2), pg. 937 of 1008.

• Wikipedia entry for John Swainson.

• National Governor's Association, Biography of John Burley Swainson.

• "Back From the Shadows", Dome Magazine, August 16, 2010.

• Michigan Department of Vital and Health Records. Michigan, Deaths, 1971-1996.

• Find A Grave Memorial #7439118.