Governor William H. Murray

Term—1931 to 1935

Telegram from Governor Murray to Gifford Pinchot regarding "oil legislation"	Letter to Governor Murray requesting reward for "Pretty Boy" Floyd
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Research Topics: Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA), Great Depression, School Land Commission

Related Websites: Handbook of Texas Online • William H. Alfalfa Bill Murray Collection at the Carl Albert Center • Wikipedia entry

Descriptive Summary

Size: 3 cubic feet
Creator: Office of Governor
Repository: Oklahoma State Archives
200 Northeast 18th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73105
(405) 522-3579
Open 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. M-F

Click here for a detailed Archival Finding Aid in Adobe Acrobat (pdf) format.

Arrangement and Description

Record Group: 8-I

William Henry Murray, Democrat. Served from 1931 to 1935. Probably Oklahoma's most colorful political figure, William Murray was born November 21, 1869, in Collinsville, Texas. At twenty years of age he graduated from College Hill Institute in Springtown, Texas. For the next six years he held various jobs, including day laborer, teacher, editor of a Dallas farm magazine, and of a Corsicana daily newspaper. Admitted to the Bar in 1895, he practiced at Fort Worth before moving to Tishomingo, Indian Territory, in 1898. There he became legal advisor to the Governor of the Chickasaw Nation. He was President of the Oklahoma Constitutional Convention in 1906; Speaker of the House of Representatives, 1907 to 1908; Members of the Sixty-third and Sixty-fourth United States Congresses; and Governor from January 12, 1931 to January 15, 1935. At his urging, the Oklahoma Tax Commission was created. His ranching interests spread to Bolivia, where he established a colony. He wrote articles and books dealing with constitutional rights. He died October 15, 1956, and is buried in Tishomingo.

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State of State Addresses: 1931 • 1933 • 1935

Agency History

The Governor of Oklahoma is the chief executive officer of the state and is elected for a four year term. Principal powers and responsibilities are outlined by the state constitution and by statute and include certain appointive powers, the veto or approval of bills passed by the Legislature, the granting of pardons and paroles, the summoning of special sessions of the legislature, and the calling out of the militia. Moreover, the Governor is directly responsible for the preparation of the state budget, serves as an ex officio member of several boards and commissions, receives reports from various state officers and agencies, and is charged with the duty of seeing that all laws are faithfully executed in the state.

Administrative Information

Access: No Restrictions.

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Preferred citation: [Identification of Item], [Box #], [Folder #], Record Group 8-I-[#], Governor's Office Records, Oklahoma State Archives, Oklahoma Department of Libraries, Oklahoma City, OK.