John_C.B._Ehringhaus
John C. B. Ehringhaus
58th governor of North Carolina
John Christoph Blucher Ehringhaus (February 5, 1882 – July 31, 1949) was an American politician who served as the 58th governor of North Carolina, serving from 1933 to 1937.
John C. B. Ehringhaus | |
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58th Governor of North Carolina | |
In office January 5, 1933 – January 7, 1937 | |
Lieutenant | Alexander H. Graham |
Preceded by | Oliver Max Gardner |
Succeeded by | Clyde R. Hoey |
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from Pasquotank County[1][2] | |
In office 1905–1909 | |
Preceded by | W.M. Hinton[3] |
Succeeded by | Seth M. Morgan[4] |
Personal details | |
Born | John Christoph Blucher Ehringhaus (1882-02-05)February 5, 1882 Elizabeth City, North Carolina, U.S. |
Died | July 31, 1949(1949-07-31) (aged 67) Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse | Matilda Haughton |
Children | 3 |
Alma mater | University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (AB, LLB) |
Profession | Lawyer, politician, farmer |
He was born on February 5, 1882, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. He was a descendent of German immigrant Johann Christoph Ehringhaus, who arrived in North Carolina in the early nineteenth-century and opened a bank in Elizabeth City.[5] The Ehringhaus family remained involved in banking and law in Elizabeth City for generations.[5]
Ehringhaus attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, he was a member of the Philanthropic society of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies from 1898 to 1902.[6]
Ehringhaus was a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks (BPOE), Elizabeth City Lodge #856. He served as District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler for the North Carolina East District of the BPOE, 1909-1910.
Governor O. Max Gardner coaxed Ehringhaus, a former state legislator and attorney, out of political retirement as his hand-picked successor. He narrowly defeated Lieutenant Governor Richard T. Fountain in a Democratic primary runoff. Fountain claimed Ehringhaus was the tool of business interests.[7]
Serving the state during the Great Depression, Ehringhaus encouraged the North Carolina General Assembly to create a state agency that would help rural areas of the state receive electricity services in order to revive the lagging economy.[8] He also cut state spending, successfully pushed for a three-cent sales tax, extended the school year and kept the schools open and solvent.[9]
He appointed former North Carolinian first lady Cora Lily Woodard Aycock as the President of the North Carolina Railroad.[10]
He died on July 31, 1949.
Asked how to say his name, he told The Literary Digest "My name is pronounced as if spelled ear'en-house."[11]
A dormitory at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Ehringhaus' alma mater (class of 1902) is named in his honor,[12] and the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, of which Ehringhaus was a member, maintains a portrait in his honor.
The second longest bridge in the state of North Carolina, a 3.5-mile stretch over the Albemarle Sound, is named in honor of this former governor.[13]
Ehringhaus' grave is located in the historic Episcopal Cemetery in his hometown of Elizabeth City in Northeastern North Carolina, and the city's main thoroughfare, Ehringhaus Street, is named in his honor.
- "North Carolina State House of Representatives - 1907-1908". www.carolana.com.
- Chris Klasing (2003). "The Ehringhauses. A German-American Family in North Carolina". usgwarchives.net. Retrieved March 3, 2024.
- Christensen, Rob. The Paradox of Tar Heel Politics. 2008: UNC Press. p. 77.
- North Carolina Historic Sites Archived December 6, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- Christensen. p. 89.
- "Aycock, Cora Lily Woodard". NCpedia. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
- Charles Earle Funk, What's the Name, Please?, Funk & Wagnalls, 1936.
- "Ehringhaus - UNC Housing". May 5, 2020.
- "North Carolina Museum of History" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 27, 2011.
Party political offices | ||
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Preceded by | Democratic nominee for Governor of North Carolina 1932 |
Succeeded by |
Political offices | ||
Preceded by | Governor of North Carolina 1933–1937 |
Succeeded by |