Milton Shapp was the first governor of Pennsylvania to be eligible for, and re-elected to, consecutive four-year terms per the 1968 Pennsylvania Constitution.
11 Facts About Milton Shapp
2.
Milton Shapp's family was Jewish, and all of his grandparents had emigrated from Eastern Europe.
3.
Jerrold Electronics became a major player in the television industry, and Milton Shapp himself amassed a multimillion-dollar fortune.
4.
Milton Shapp sold his interest in Jerrold Electronics in 1967 to the General Instrument Company to concentrate on politics.
5.
At the time, Milton Shapp was heavily involved in unsuccessfully trying to stop the merger of the Pennsylvania Railroad with the New York Central.
6.
Milton Shapp invested millions of dollars of his own money into the effort, traveling throughout Pennsylvania to convince local officials to oppose the merger.
7.
Milton Shapp pushed the issue into the federal courts and testified against the proposed merger in front of the Interstate Commerce Commission.
8.
Milton Shapp signed into law the bill creating the Pennsylvania Lottery and instituted major reforms for the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
9.
Milton Shapp faced a massive recovery effort after Hurricane Agnes caused widespread flooding in the state causing the death of 48 Pennsylvanians.
10.
Milton Shapp set his sights on the White House and ran unsuccessfully for the 1976 Democratic nomination for president, but failed to carry even his home state of Pennsylvania in the primary elections, and dropped out after an 89-day campaign.
11.
Milton Shapp opposed capital punishment and vetoed an attempt to restore it in Pennsylvania in 1974.