Goodwin Jess "Goodie" Knight was an American politician who served as the 31st governor of California from 1953 until 1959.
23 Facts About Goodwin Knight
2.
Goodwin Knight's father, Jesse Jasper Knight, was a mining engineer, but Goodwin followed in the footsteps of his maternal grandfather, John B Milner, who was a judge in Provo.
3.
Goodwin Knight attended high school in Los Angeles, at Manual Arts High School.
4.
Goodwin Knight was a judge of the Superior Court in Los Angeles beginning in 1935.
5.
Goodwin Knight was reelected in 1936 and 1942 without significant opposition.
6.
Goodwin Knight began his political career in 1944, when he pursued the Republican nomination for the US Senate.
7.
Goodwin Knight bowed out early, though, to back Fred Houser.
8.
Goodwin Knight was elected as the 35th Lieutenant Governor of California to serve under Governor Earl Warren in 1946, then reelected in 1950.
9.
Goodwin Knight became governor himself when Warren resigned to become Chief Justice of the United States in 1953.
10.
Goodwin Knight appeared on Benny's TV show four years later, on February 10,1957.
11.
In 1954, Goodwin Knight was easily elected to his own full term.
12.
At first Goodwin Knight seemed to make an alliance with Knowland, but this began to sour in 1956 when Knowland supported Nixon for renomination as vice president.
13.
Goodwin Knight, known as a moderate, and sympathetic to organized labor, faced a serious threat from more conservative challengers.
14.
Goodwin Knight was induced by Knowland, Nixon, President Dwight Eisenhower, and others to run for Knowland's Senate seat instead of running for governor again.
15.
Goodwin Knight was present at the July 17,1955, opening of Disneyland, and gave a speech following Walt Disney's famous dedication.
16.
In September 1961, Goodwin Knight announced a bid for a return to the governorship.
17.
Goodwin Knight later dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination which was won by Nixon, who was in turn defeated by Brown.
18.
In 1964, Goodwin Knight endorsed Nelson Rockefeller for the Republican nomination against Barry Goldwater.
19.
On May 22,1970, Goodwin Knight died three months after his 36-year-old daughter Carolyn Goodwin Knight Weedman committed suicide.
20.
Goodwin Knight took her life by carbon monoxide asphyxiation from her car in the garage of her home in the Hancock Park neighborhood of Los Angeles and left behind two sons, Jonathan and Robert Weedman.
21.
Goodwin Knight discovered his daughter a day later, and this is believed to have contributed to the stroke that ultimately ended his life.
22.
Goodwin Knight's funeral took place in Saint James Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, with full military honors.
23.
Goodwin Knight was initially interred at Hollywood Memorial Park Cemetery, but one year later disinterred and his remains moved to Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier, California after his second wife, Virginia Goodwin Knight, learned he had purchased a crypt next to his first wife, Arvilla.