Frank
Merriam was born in Hopkinton, Iowa, on 22nd December, 1865. A member
of the Republican Party, Merriam was
a journalist before being elected to the legislature in Iowa.
In
1910 Merriam moved to California, and served as Assemblyman, Senator
before being elected as Governor of California in 1933. He took up
the post in 1934 and during his period of office the San Francisco-Oakland
Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate Bridge were both opened.
Merriam also controversially refused to pardon Tom
Mooney and Warren Billings, who
had been wrongly imprisoned for the bombing which occurred in San
Francisco in 1916.
Merriam
was defeated by Culbert Olson, the first
member of the Democratic Party to
hold this office for forty-four years.
Frank
Merriam died in Long Beach, California on 25th April, 1955.
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