R. H. Wilson Explained

R. H. Wilson
Office:2nd Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction
Term Start:November 16, 1911
Term End:1923
Governor:Lee Cruce
Robert L. Williams
James B. A. Robertson
Predecessor:Evan Dhu Cameron
Successor:M. A. Nash
Party:Democratic Party
Birth Date:August 25, 1873
Birth Name:Robert H. Wilson
Death Date:October 4, 1937 (aged 64)

Robert H. Wilson was an American politician who served as the 2nd Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction from 1911 to 1923 and unsuccessfully ran for governor of Oklahoma in 1922.

Early life, family, and career

Robert H. Wilson was born in Allen County, Kentucky on August 25, 1873, to John A. Wilson and Mary E. Briley. He left Kentucky in 1891, moving to Texas and attending Grayson College in Whitewright. On September 17, 1899, he married Grace Womack and they had two children. In 1903 he moved to Chickasha, Indian Territory (now Grady County, Oklahoma). He was later elected the principal of a Chickasha grade school and taught 12 years in .[1] He was the first president of the Oklahoma School Officers' Association.[2]

Oklahoma Superintendent

At Oklahoma statehood Wilson was elected County Superintendent of Grady County, Oklahoma. He held the office until he defeated Evan Dhu Cameron in the 1910 Democratic primary for Oklahoma Superintendent of Public Instruction and won the general election.[3] He was reelected in 1914 and 1918.

1922 Gubernatorial campaign

Wilson ran in the 1922 Oklahoma gubernatorial election with the endorsement of the Ku Klux Klan, but lost the primary to Jack C. Walton.[4]

Later life and death

He died in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on October 4, 1937.

Notes and References

  1. December 1937 . NECROLOGY . Chronicles of Oklahoma . 15 . 4 . 498 . Oklahoma Historical Society.
  2. Book: Corden . Seth K. . Richards . William B. . The Oklahoma red book . 1912 . Oklahoma City, Okla. : [s.n.] . 122 . 19 February 2024.
  3. Web site: 1907-1912 Results . oklahoma.gov . . 23 September 2023.
  4. Web site: O'Dell . Larry . Walton, John Calloway (1881-1949) . okhistory.org . . 25 March 2024.