William S. Taylor
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William Sylvester Taylor (1853-1928) was the Governor of Kentucky from December 1899 until January 1900.
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[edit] Personal life
According to The Kentucky Encyclopedia, Taylor was born October 10, 1853 to Sylvester Taylor and Mary G. Taylor nee Moore. He received no formal education, but became an attorney.
[edit] Political career
Taylor was the Butler County Clerk, County Judge, and State Attorney General before his election to the governorship. He was elected in a highly contentious race, receiving 193,714 votes (just 383 more than his next opponent, William Goebel). He was inaugurated on December 12, 1899. The Democrat-controlled General Assembly formed a commission to examine the election, and eventually disqualified enough Taylor votes for Goebel to be declared the winner. Armed men came from various areas of the state to Frankfort, the state capitol. The imbroglio led to Taylor declaring a state of emergency, and Goebel was fatally wounded by a rifle shot on January 30, 1900 (he died four days later, having been sworn in as governor on January 31).
The court system eventually upheld the Goebel election and Taylor was indicted as an accessory to the assassination of Goebel. He fled to Indiana, which refused to extradite him. He was pardoned in 1909 by Republican Governor Augustus E. Willson.
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| Preceded by William O'Connell Bradley |
Governor of Kentucky 1899–1900 |
Succeeded by William Goebel |
| Governors of Kentucky |  |
|---|---|
| Shelby • Garrard • Greenup • Scott • Shelby • Madison • Slaughter • Adair • Desha • Metcalfe • J. Breathitt • J. Morehead • Clark • Wickliffe • Letcher • Owsley • Crittenden • Helm • Powell • C. Morehead • Magoffin • Robinson • Bramlette • Helm • Stevenson • Leslie • McCreary • Blackburn • Knott • Buckner • Brown • Bradley • Taylor • Goebel • Beckham • Willson • McCreary • Stanley • Black • Morrow • Fields • Sampson • Laffoon • Chandler • Johnson • Willis • Clements • Wetherby • Chandler • Combs • E. Breathitt • Nunn • Ford • Carroll • Brown Jr. • Collins • Wilkinson • Jones • Patton • Fletcher
Kentucky also had two Confederate Governors: George W. Johnson and Richard Hawes. |
