Oswald West (May 20, 1873 - August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. Called "Os West" by Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook, who described him as "by all odds the most brilliant governor Oregon ever had."
West was born in Ontario, Canada but moved to Salem, Oregon with his family at the age of four where he attended school and eventually went into banking. After several years as ...
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Oswald West (May 20, 1873 - August 22, 1960) was an American politician, a Democrat, who served most notably as the 14th Governor of Oregon. Called "Os West" by Oregon writer Stewart Holbrook, who described him as "by all odds the most brilliant governor Oregon ever had."
West was born in Ontario, Canada but moved to Salem, Oregon with his family at the age of four where he attended school and eventually went into banking. After several years as a banker in Salem and Astoria and a six month stint searching for gold in Alaska, West gained an appointment as the State Land Agent. He proved effective in his position, recovering almost 1 million acres (4,000 km²) of fraudulently held state land. In 1907 he left his position as Land Agent and was appointed to the Oregon Railroad Commission, where he again found a great deal of success.
In 1910 he gained the Democratic nomination for Governor and went on to defeat his opponent, Jay Bowerman, and take the office in 1911. While in office West...
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