Leonard B. Jordan

Len Jordan
United States Senator from Idaho
In office August 6, 1962 – January 2, 1973
Preceded by	Henry Dworshak
Succeeded by	Jim McClure
23rd Governor of Idaho
In office January 1, 1951 – January 3, 1955
Lieutenant	Edson H. Deal
Preceded by	C. A. Robins
Succeeded by	Robert Smylie
Personal details
Born	(1899-05-15)May 15, 1899 Mount Pleasant, Utah
Died	June 30, 1983(1983-06-30) (aged 84) Boise, Idaho
Resting place	Cloverdale Memorial Park Boise, Idaho
Nationality	United States
Political party	Republican
Spouse(s)	Grace Edgington Jordan (1892–1985) (m. 1924–1983, his death)
Children	2 sons, 1 daughter
Residence	Boise, (Grangeville in 1950)
Alma mater	University of Oregon, 1923
Profession	Agriculture
Religion	Methodist
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Service/branch	U.S. Army
Rank	Lieutenant
Battles/wars	World War I

Leonard Beck "Len" Jordan (May 15, 1899 – June 30, 1983) was the 23rd Governor of Idaho and a United States Senator for over ten years.

Early years

Born in Mount Pleasant, Utah, Jordan was educated in the public schools of Enterprise, Oregon. He attended the University of Oregon in Eugene on a football scholarship^[1] and graduated in 1923, and was awarded a key to Phi Beta Kappa. He married classmate Grace Edington on December 30, 1924.^[2]

Career

Jordan was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army during World War I, but did not serve overseas. After college, he was a sheep rancher in Hells Canyon in Idaho during the Great Depression, and then settled in Grangeville, where he established a farm implement business, a real estate agency, and an automobile dealership.^[1]

Jordan was elected to the state senate in 1946 and successfully ran for governor in 1950.

During his four-year term, slot machines were banned; employment, unemployment, and job training services were merged; and the state highway commission was initiated.^[3] Jordan did not run for re-election in 1954 because it was not allowed at the time. Starting with the 1946 election, Idaho changed from two-year to four-year terms for governor, but disallowed self-succession (re-election). Jordan's successor as governor was the former attorney general, Robert Smylie, who successfully lobbied the 1955 legislature to propose an amendment to the state constitution to allow gubernatorial re-election, which was approved by voters in the 1956 general election.^[4][5] (Smylie was re-elected in 1958 and 1962, and sought a fourth term in 1966, but was defeated in the primary.)

In 1955, Jordan was appointed by President Eisenhower as Chairman of the United States section of the International Joint Commission with Canada to develop the St. Lawrence Seaway.

In August 1962, Jordan was appointed to the U.S. Senate by Governor Smylie, following the death of Henry Dworshak in July. In November, Jordan defeated Democratic Congresswoman Gracie Pfost of Nampa in the special election to complete the remaining four years of the term. Jordan was re-elected in 1966, defeating former Democratic Congressman Ralph Harding of Blackfoot. In the Senate he helped establish the Sawtooth National Recreation Area in 1972. Jordan did not seek re-election in 1972 and was succeeded by Jim McClure, the three-term Republican congressman from the first district.

Source:^[6] ^Jordan was appointed to the vacant seat in August 1962

A state office building in Boise, near the state capitol, was named for him in December 1973.^[7][8][9]

Death

Jordan died at age 84 in Boise on June 30, 1983,^[10] and his wife died two years later. They are interred at Cloverdale Memorial Park in west Boise.^[11]

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

External links

• Leonard B. Jordan at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Leonard Jordan at Find A Grave
• Jordan's Congressional papers, 1962–1972 are housed at Albertsons Library, Boise State University
• Len Jordan Digital Collection features photographs of his career as Governor of Idaho from 1950–1954 and United States Senator from 1962–1973
• National Governors Association

Governors of Idaho Territorial (1863–1890) Wallace Lyon Ballard Bowen Bennett Thompson Brayman Neil Irwin Bunn Stevenson Shoup State (since 1890) Shoup Willey McConnell Steunenberg Hunt Morrison Gooding Brady Hawley Haines Alexander Davis Moore Baldridge Ross B. Clark Bottolfsen C. Clark Bottolfsen Gossett Williams Robins Jordan Smylie Samuelson Andrus Evans Andrus Batt Kempthorne Risch Otter

United States Senators from Idaho Class 2 Shoup Dubois Borah Thomas Gossett Dworshak Miller Dworshak Jordan McClure Craig Risch Class 3 McConnell Dubois Heitfeld Heyburn Perky Brady Nugent Gooding Thomas Pope Clark Taylor Welker Church Symms Kempthorne Crapo