Mike O'Callaghan

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Donal Neil "Mike" O'Callaghan (September 10, 1929 – March 5, 2004) was the governor of the U.S. state of Nevada from 1971 until 1979. He was a member of the Democratic Party.

Born in 1929 in La Crosse, Wisconsin, O'Callaghan lied about his age to join the Marines at 16 and served until 1948. In 1950 he joined the Air Force and served as an intelligence operator in the Aleutian Islands. He transferred to the Army in 1952 in order to see combat and lost part of his left leg after being hit by a mortar round during a battle in the Korean War. He was awarded the Silver Star and Bronze Star. After his return to the United States, he became a high school teacher and boxing coach. He was Harry Reid's History teacher at Basic High School in Henderson NV and later promoted Harry's political career. His political career began in 1963, when Nevada governor Grant Sawyer appointed him to head the new Department of Human Resources. In 1964 president Lyndon B. Johnson appointed him to be the regional director of the office of emergency preparedness.

In 1966 O'Callaghan ran in the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, but lost. In 1970, he received the Democratic gubernatorial nomination and won a surprising victory in the general election over his Republican opponent, lieutenant governor Ed Fike. He proved to be an extremely popular governor and was reelected in 1974 by a 4 to 1 margin, the greatest landslide in a gubernatorial election in state history. He did not run for a third term and became executive editor for the Las Vegas Sun, a job he held until his death. In the 1990s he monitored elections in Nicaragua and northern Iraq, and was a strong supporter of Israel. He died of a heart attack on March 5, 2004 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A highway bypass around the Hoover Dam will have a bridge bearing O'Callaghan's name. When completed in 2008, the Mike O’Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge will span the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona.

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Preceded by
Paul Laxalt		 Governor of Nevada
1971–1979		 Succeeded by
Robert List
Governors of Nevada Nevada State Flag
Blasdel • Bradley • Kinkead • Adams • Stevenson • Bell • Colcord • Jones • Sadler • Sparks • Dickerson • Oddie • Boyle • Scrugham • Balzar • Griswold • Kirman • Carville • Pittman • Russell • Sawyer • Laxalt • O'Callaghan • List • Bryan • Miller • Guinn • Gibbons
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