#56 Thomas J. Herbert

Thomas J. Herbert

Born: October 28, 1894
Died: October 26, 1974
Political Party: Republican
Term of Office: January 13, 1947 - January 10, 1949
Buried: Lake View Cemetery Cleveland, Ohio
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   Thomas Herbert was born in Cleveland in 1894. He graduated from Western Reserve University in 1915. He started to attend law school there but dropped out when WW1 broke out. As a fighter pilot, Herbert earned the rank of 1st Lieutenant. He flew combat missions over France and was shot down in 1918. After a 2 year long recovery, Herbert was highly decorated. He earned the British Distinguished Flying Cross, American Distinguished Service Cross and the Purple Heart. He returned to law school after his service and graduated in 1920, passing the Ohio bar exam that same year. In 1929, he became one of Ohio's assistant Attorney Generals, after years in local county offices. In 1938, he won the election to become Ohio's Attorney General. He was so widely respected in that position that he served as President of the National Association of Attorney Generals.

    Herbert sought the Republican nomination for Governor of Ohio in 1944, but didn't get it. He tried again in 1946 and won both the nomination of his party, and the Governorship, beating sitting Governor Frank Lausche. As Governor, Herbert lowered taxes, increased funding to public schools, and started a big road building and paving campaign. He also set aside money to help returning WW2 veterans. Herbert lost reelection in 1948 to former Governor Frank Lausche. All in all, Lausche ran for Governor 6 times in a row, and Herbert was the only one to beat him.

   Herbert remained active in politics and in 1953, President Eisenhower appointed him to be Chairman of the Subversive Activities Control Board. The soul purpose of this control board was to monitor Communist activities in the United States during the Cold War. Herbert left that job when he won a seat as a Justice in the Ohio State Supreme Court in 1957.

Herbert first wife, Janette passed away in 1945. As Governor he remarried. Through my research so far I think that he is the only Governor to get married while in office. But I will need to dig deeper to confirm this.

After one term in the Ohio State Supreme Court, Thomas Herbert retired from politics and passed away in 1974.

     In September 2010, my wife, daughter and I headed up to Cleveland to see the historical sites connected with President James A. Garfield. I had seen most of the sites before, but I forgot my camera on previous trips. So I wanted to get good pictures of everything. Also since my last visits I had started to look into the where abouts of the Ohio Governor Gravesites. 3 of then also happen to be buried in the same cemetery as President Garfield - Lake View Cemetery in Cleveland. Governors Thomas Herbert, Harry Davis and Myron T. Herrick are all buried in Lake View. I was only able to find Governors Herbert and Davis, on this trip. I returned a few times over the next few years. But finally in March 2017 I returned and was able to find Governor Herrick. I also revisited Governors Herbert and Davis while I was at it.

Thomas J. Herbert gravesite. Lake View Cemetery Cleveland, Ohio in 2010

I liked the Ohio State Seal on the top of the gravestone in 2010

Through the editing process I accidentally deleted the picture of me with the gravesite of Governor Herbert from my first stop in 2010. But here are my kids and I there on a 2017 revisit.