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Sidney P. Osborn

Range of Years Served: 
1912-1918
Party: 
Democrat
Served as Secretary of State: February 14, 1912 – 1918 Born: May 17, 1884, Phoenix, Maricopa County, Ariz. Died: May 25, 1948, Phoenix, Maricopa County, Ariz. Buried: May 28, 1948, Greenwood Cemetery, Phoenix, Maricopa County, Ariz. Sidney P. Osborn was elected to the office in the Dec. 12, 1911, election but did not take office until Arizona became a state on Feb. 14, 1912. He was re-elected in the November 1914 and 1916 General Elections. Osborn served as Arizona governor from 1941 until his death on May 25, 1948. He was the first Arizona state governor to die while serving in the office of the governor. Osborn served as Arizona governor from 1941 until his death on May 25, 1948. He was the first Arizona state governor to die while serving in the office of the governor.

Biography

Name:  Sidney Preston Osborn

Name as Secretary of State:  Sidney P. Osborn

Notes: Sidney P. Osborn was stricken with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, often called Lou Gehrig's disease, but he refused to resign.  "Only death or the people of Arizona will remove me from office."  (Arizona State Capitol Museum Interpreter's Manual)  He was the first Arizona State Governor to die while serving in office.

Other Elected Offices:
Arizona Governor  Office Years: 1941 – 1942; 1943 –1944; 1945 – 1946; 1947 – May 25, 1948

Education:  Phoenix Union High School

Occupations:  Page, Arizona Territorial Assembly; secretary to John F. Wilson, Arizona Territorial Delegate to Congress; newspaperman; real estate salesman; Collector of Internal Revenue

Memberships: Past exalted ruler of Elks Lodge 335, Phoenix; Knights of Pythais; Odd Fellows Lodge

Firsts: First Arizona Secretary of State (and youngest in the United States at the time); First Arizona State Governor to die while serving in office

Notable:  
Delegate to the Arizona 1910 Constitutional Convention.
Elected:  September 12, 1910 (the youngest of the 52 delegates elected)
Represented:  Maricopa County
Signed the Arizona State Constitution on December 9, 1910:  “Sidney P. Osborn”
Also:  He wrote in his fifth-grade school book, "Sidney Osborn, Governor of Arizona."  ("A Good Governor Passes." Arizona Daily Sun, May 26, 1948, p. 2)

Memorial/Resolution: 18th Legislature, 7th Special Session, September 13, 1948 – October 14, 1948, Senate Joint Resolution No. 1 “A Joint Resolution on the Death of Hon. Sidney P. Osborn” filed in the Office of the Secretary of State, September 17, 1948.

Sources:  Birth and name:  World War I draft registration; occupations:  U.S. Arizona census records, memorial; death and burial:  AZ death record