20 Facts About Douglas McKay

James Douglas McKay was an American businessman and politician from the US state of Oregon.

Douglas McKay served in World War I before going into business, where he was most successful as a car dealership owner in Salem.

Douglas McKay left that office before the end of his term when he was selected as the thirty-fifth US Secretary of the Interior during the Eisenhower administration.

Douglas McKay was admitted to Oregon State College in Corvallis as an agriculture student at the age of twenty.

Douglas McKay graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree and married Mabel Christine Hill on March 31,1917.

Douglas McKay sustained an injury in battle to his leg, right arm, and shoulder, which earned him a Purple Heart.

Douglas McKay later served as president of the Oregon Automobile Dealer's Association.

Douglas McKay won election to several local political offices as a Republican, becoming mayor of Salem in 1932, and guided that city through fiscal troubles in the wake of the Great Depression.

Douglas McKay was elected to the Oregon State Senate in 1934, serving four terms interrupted by service as a major in the Army during World War II.

Douglas McKay was elected governor in 1948 on a platform of fiscal conservatism and economic development.

Douglas McKay was a strong advocate for resource conservation; however, he supported cutting of old growth timber to create jobs for Oregonians.

Douglas McKay actively opposed the Federal Government's plan to create a Columbia Valley Authority.

Douglas McKay supported legislation to turn over 95 percent of the profits from the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to the state's general fund with the remaining profits going to Oregon cities based on population.

Douglas McKay fostered partnerships involving the states, local public groups, private enterprise, and the Federal Government in building facilities and developing natural resources.

However Douglas McKay worked to prevent the Columbia Valley Authority and protection of the Hell's Canyon project.

Douglas McKay created nine new wildlife reserves and he opposed the transfer of Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge property to the Army.

In 1954, Douglas McKay was featured on the cover of the edition of August 23 of Time.

At the urging of Eisenhower, Douglas McKay resigned March 9,1956, effective April 15,1956, to challenge incumbent Wayne Morse for his seat in the United States Senate.

Douglas McKay lost a fierce campaign, in no small measure because of the opposition he had engendered among Oregon conservation groups.

Douglas McKay died of heart attack in Salem, Oregon, at the age of sixty-six, and was interred at Belcrest Memorial Park in Salem.