Thomas Read (politician)

Thomas Read (May 28, 1881 – April 7, 1962) was a Republican politician from Michigan who served in the Michigan House of Representatives including as its Speaker during the 50th Legislature, as Lieutenant Governor of Michigan under Alex J. Groesbeck, as a member of the Michigan State Senate, and as Michigan Attorney General.[1]

Thomas Read
44th Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives
In office
January 1, 1919 – December 31, 1920
GovernorAlbert E. Sleeper
Preceded byWayne R. Rice
Succeeded byFred L. Warner
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the Oceana County district
In office
January 1, 1915 – December 31, 1920
Succeeded byDaniel Rankin
36th and 40th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan
In office
January 1, 1935 – January 1, 1937
GovernorFrank D. Fitzgerald
Preceded byAllen E. Stebbins
Succeeded byLeo J. Nowicki
In office
January 1, 1921 – January 1, 1925
GovernorAlex J. Groesbeck
Preceded byLuren Dickinson
Succeeded byGeorge W. Welsh
41st Michigan Attorney General
In office
January 1, 1939 – January 1, 1941
GovernorFrank Fitzgerald
Luren Dickinson
Preceded byRaymond Wesley Starr
Succeeded byHerbert J. Rushton
Member of the Michigan Senate
from the 26th district
In office
January 1, 1927 – December 31, 1928
Preceded byOrville E. Atwood
Succeeded byOrville E. Atwood
Personal details
Born(1881-05-28)May 28, 1881
Rochester, New York
DiedApril 7, 1962(1962-04-07) (aged 80)
Kalamazoo, Michigan
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Ethel
Residence(s)Shelby, Oceana County, Michigan
ProfessionAttorney

Born in Rochester, New York of English and Scottish ancestry to Thomas and Jane Read on May 28, 1881, Read was either a candidate for or served in nearly all state-level offices in Michigan (he was never a candidate for or elected Secretary of State). He was a candidate in the primary for Governor of Michigan in 1924, losing to Alex J. Groesbeck, and 1940, losing to Luren Dickinson.

Read was a presidential elector for Michigan in 1928, casting a ballot for Herbert Hoover, and a delegate to the 1940 Republican National Convention in Philadelphia which nominated Wendell Willkie (who eventually lost to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Senator Arthur H. Vandenberg of Michigan was a candidate for the nomination at that convention.

Read died after surgery at a hospital in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1962.[2] The elementary school in his hometown of Shelby is named for Read.[3]

References
  1. The Political Graveyard: Read, Thomas
  2. "Thomas Read, 80, Is Dead; Longtime State Official". Detroit Free Press. April 8, 1962. p. 12. Retrieved October 2, 2020.
  3. Thomas Read Elementary
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