40 Facts About Ernest McFarland

1.

Ernest McFarland served in all three branches of government, two at the state level, one at the federal level.

2.

Ernest McFarland was a Democratic US senator from Arizona from 1941 to 1953 before becoming the tenth governor of Arizona from 1955 to 1959.

3.

Finally, McFarland sat as chief justice on the Arizona Supreme Court in 1968.

4.

Ernest McFarland was born to William Thomas and Keziah Ernest McFarland on October 9,1894, in a log cabin on his family's farm in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, near Earlsboro.

5.

Ernest McFarland completed the required work for a temporary teaching certificate after one quarter.

6.

In late 1914 and early 1915, Ernest McFarland taught in a one-room school in Schoolton, Oklahoma, to raise funds for his education.

7.

Ernest McFarland then returned to East Central and taught mathematics at Ada High School to pay for his education.

8.

Ernest McFarland completed his studies at East Central in mid-1915, and left the school with a lifetime teaching certificate.

9.

Ernest McFarland spent the next several months in the hospital dealing with a variety of problems, including pericarditis, emphysema, and pleurisy.

10.

Ernest McFarland arrived in Phoenix on May 10,1919, and after several days found employment at a local bank.

11.

Ernest McFarland attended law school for four quarters before he took a break.

12.

Ernest McFarland was legal clerk for future Arizona Governor John Calhoun Phillips.

13.

Ernest McFarland was introduced to a variety of figures within the Arizona political establishment.

14.

Ernest McFarland completed work on his Juris Doctor in the summer quarter in 1922.

15.

Ernest McFarland was admitted to the Arizona Bar later that year.

16.

Ernest McFarland dealt with the lack of work by becoming involved in politics.

17.

Ernest McFarland's wife suffered from depression following the loss of their two children.

18.

Ernest McFarland showed signs of improvement in 1930 as the couple expected a third child.

19.

The third child, Juliette, was stillborn, and Clare Ernest McFarland developed postpartum complications, which led to her death on December 12,1930.

20.

The practice gained public recognition when Ernest McFarland won an appeal that determined Winnie Ruth Judd to be insane, but its primary area of effort was water law.

21.

In 1935, Ernest McFarland was sworn in, and he sat on the bench for the next six years.

22.

Ernest McFarland taught history and mathematics at Florence High School until the couple married in Tucson on June 1,1939.

23.

Ernest McFarland considered a run for a seat in the US House of Representatives following the resignation of Isabella Greenway and was repeatedly encouraged to run for Arizona Attorney General.

24.

Ernest McFarland toured the state and reacquainted himself to various political leaders he had met during his time on the bench, but he waited to announce his intentions to run.

25.

Ernest McFarland went on to win the general election and took office in January 1941.

26.

Senator Burton K Wheeler recommended McFarland be placed on Nye's committee under the assumption the freshman senator "would keep his mouth shut".

27.

Ernest McFarland gained national attention for his actions on the committee, with most of the nation viewing him favorably.

28.

Those dealings with the FCC led Ernest McFarland to develop an interest in communications.

29.

Ernest McFarland was selected leader of the team and found it easier to remain on the floor himself than to find others to take the duty.

30.

Ernest McFarland was selected to be Senate Majority Leader for the 82nd Congress.

31.

Ernest McFarland used the informal setting as a forum to conduct a variety of Senate business.

32.

For two years, Ernest McFarland had sat next to Harry Truman while they were both in the Senate.

33.

Ernest McFarland spoke before Appropriations Committee to ask for funds to bring water from the Colorado River to central Arizona.

34.

Ernest McFarland became an expert on water law because of his efforts on Irrigation and Reclamation Committee.

35.

Ernest McFarland lost to Republican Barry Goldwater in the 1952 Senate elections.

36.

Ernest McFarland was elected governor of Arizona in 1954 and re-elected in 1956.

37.

Ernest McFarland worked with members of the Bureau of Reclamation to pick a location for the Glen Canyon Dam, and he emphasized education during his two terms in office.

38.

Ernest McFarland tried unsuccessfully to unseat Goldwater in the Senate elections of 1958.

39.

Ernest McFarland took part in Miranda v Arizona and served as chief justice in 1968, thus completing a political "grand slam".

40.

Ernest McFarland purchased and donated them to the Arizona State Parks Board.