20 Facts About Simon Bamberger

Simon Bamberger was a German-American entrepreneur and politician who served as the fourth governor of Utah after it achieved statehood from territorial status in 1896.

Simon Bamberger was the third Jew ever elected governor of any state, after Washington Bartlett of California and Moses Alexander of Idaho.

Simon Bamberger emigrated to the United States at the age of fourteen, shortly before the American Civil War broke out.

However, Simon Bamberger missed the connection at Columbus and ended up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and, then Terre Haute, Indiana.

Simon Bamberger remained there until the Civil War ended in 1865, at which point he relocated to St Louis, Missouri and established a garment manufacturing company with his brother Herman.

Simon Bamberger began operating a small hotel in Ogden, Utah, not far from Salt Lake City.

In 1872, Simon Bamberger invested in a silver mine, the Centennial Eureka Mine in Juab County.

Simon Bamberger opened various lines linking Salt Lake City to mining operations, but the ventures lost a substantial amount of money, and during this period built Lagoon, a large amusement park in Farmington, Utah.

Simon Bamberger constructed a railroad, the Salt Lake and Ogden, from Salt Lake City to Ogden in 1908.

The Simon Bamberger had good freight business even though it directly competed with the Union Pacific Railroad.

The Simon Bamberger survived to the mid-1950s due to a good freight business.

Simon Bamberger began on the local level, serving on the Salt Lake City Board of Education between 1898 and 1903.

In 1912 Simon Bamberger was defeated for re-election to the state senate.

Fortunate enough to have the cooperation of a Democratic majority in the legislature, Simon Bamberger embarked on an ambitious reform agenda.

Simon Bamberger's administration was at the vanguard of modern legislation in other ways as well: in addition to fulfilling his pledge to sign a statewide Prohibition bill before the 18th Amendment was ratified nationwide, he brought Utah to the forefront of securities regulation.

Simon Bamberger pushed through legislation that prefigured some of the most significant, far-reaching 20th-century reforms in the United States.

Simon Bamberger signed laws establishing Workers' Compensation and a state industrial commission to administer it, compulsory high school attendance, and a mine tax that actually contravened his own financial interest.

Simon Bamberger urged bond passages to improve the state's road network, and convened a special session of the Legislature to ratify the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, which passed in 1920 guaranteeing national women's suffrage, a right which Utah women had been granted by unanimous vote of the territorial legislature in 1869 and in the Utah State Constitution in 1895.

Simon Bamberger left office in 1921 and returned to managing his business interests.

Simon Bamberger died on October 6,1926, and was buried at B'nai Israel Cemetery, Salt Lake City.