Daniel I.J. Thornton (January 31, 1911, to January 19, 1976) was a United States cattle breeder and Republican politician who served as the 33rd Governor of the State of Colorado from 1951 to 1955.
Daniel Isaac J. Thornton was born in Hall County, Texas, on January 31, 1911. Thornton graduated from Texas Technological College (now Texas Tech University) in Lubbock and the University of California at Los Angeles and married Jessie Willock. In 1937, the Thorntons purchased a cattle ranch near Springerfield, Arizona, and in 1941 they moved their cattle operation to a ranch near Gunnison, Colorado. The Thorntons developed the Thornton Triumphant Hereford cattle strain. In 1948, Thornton was elected to the Colorado State Senate.
In 1950, Thornton defeated incumbent Democratic Governor Walter Johnson. Governor Thornton was famous for his Stetson hat, pipe, and cowboy boots. Thornton served as governor for two two-year terms. In 1952 he was one of five people on the short list for the Republican vice presidential nomination. Dwight Eisenhower, like Thornton Texas-born, instead chose Richard Nixon, a freshman U.S. senator from California. (Richard Nixon: The Rise of an American Politician. Roger Morris. Pg. 726)
In 1956 Thornton was under discussion for a cabinet appointment. He was the Republican nominee for the U.S. Senate in Colorado that year, but was narrowly defeated by John A. Carroll.[1]
Dan Thornton died of a heart attack in Carmel, California, on January 19, 1976.
Governor Thornton is the namesake of the City of Thornton outside Denver, Colorado. In 2008, he was listed among the "100 Most Influential People" from Lubbock, as part of the city centennial observation.[2]
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| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Walter Walford Johnson |
Governor of the State of Colorado 1951–1955 |
Succeeded by Edwin Carl Johnson |
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