Sumner Sewall
58th Governor of Maine
In office
January 1, 1941 – January 3, 1945
Preceded byLewis O. Barrows
Succeeded byHorace Hildreth
Member of the Maine Senate
In office
1936-1940
Member of the Maine House of Representatives
In office
1934-1936
Personal details
Born(1897-06-17)June 17, 1897
Bath, Maine, U.S.
DiedJanuary 25, 1965(1965-01-25) (aged 67)
Bath, Maine, U.S.
Resting placeOak Grove Cemetery, Bath, Maine
Political partyRepublican
Alma materHarvard College
ProfessionBusinessman, politician, airman
AwardsDistinguished Service Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster, Croix de Guerre (France), Legion of Honour (France), Order of the Crown (Belgium)
Military service
Allegiance United States
Branch/serviceAir Service, United States Army
Years of service1917-1919
RankCaptain
Unit95th Aero Squadron
Battles/warsWorld War I

Sumner Sewall (June 17, 1897 – January 25, 1965) was an American Republican politician and airline executive who served as the 58th Governor of Maine from 1941 to 1945. He began his aviation career during World War I as a fighter ace.

Life and career

A native of Bath, Maine, Sewall dropped out of Harvard College in 1917 to go to Europe to aid the Allies during World War I. Sewall served first in the American Ambulance Field Service from February through August 1917, then in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, then finally as a fighter pilot in the U.S. Army Air Service, becoming an ace by scoring seven victories.

He enlisted in the USAAS in Paris, underwent training, and reported to the 95th Aero Squadron in February 1918. He was promoted to Flight Commander, and went on to score five victories over enemy planes between 3 June and 18 September 1918, sharing a couple of them with future general James Knowles and Edward Peck Curtis. Sewall then became a balloon buster, shooting down an observation balloon each on 4 and 5 November. The only victory he did not receive credit for came when German pilot Leutnant Heinz Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay mistakenly landed on the 95th Aero Squadron's airfield, and Sewall and a couple of other American pilots captured him at gunpoint.[1]

Sewall returned home with the Distinguished Service Cross with oak leaf cluster, the French Legion of Honor, the Croix de Guerre and the Order of the Crown of Belgium.[1]

After the war, he worked in a variety of jobs, including being an executive with Colonial Air Transport and a director of United Air Lines.

His political career began when he became an alderman in Bath in 1933. He was elected to the Maine state legislature as a representative in 1934, then as a senator in 1936 and 1938. After the latter election, he was named President of the State Senate. In 1940, he was elected governor, and served two terms. Sewall's administration was notable for cleaning up scandals in state government and passing a minimum wage law for state teachers.

After stepping down as governor, Sewall became president of American Overseas Airlines for a year, then served as the military governor of Württemberg-Baden from 1946 to 1947. In 1948, Sewall finished a distant third in the Republican primary for Maine's open United States Senate seat, which ended his political career.

Sewall became president of the Bath National Bank in the 1960s. He died on 25 January 1965.

Family

Sewall's parents were William Dunning Sewall and Mary Locke Sumner of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. Mary was the daughter of George Sumner and Sarah E. Richardson, and she was great-granddaughter of the Reverend Joseph Sumner of the First Congregational Church in Shrewsbury. William D. Sewall and Mary Locke Sumner lived at the Sewall Family Home in Bath, ME known as York Hall.

Sewall's grandfather, Arthur Sewall, was the Democratic candidate for vice president in 1896.

Sewall married Helen Ellena Evans in 1929. They had two sons, David and Nick, and a daughter Alexandria.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 American Aces of World War I. p. 68–69.

Bibliography

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.