John Pierce St. John (1879-1883)

St John John P

Politician, Governor

Born:1833, Brooksville, Indiana
Died:31 August 1916, Olathe Kansas

  1. Biennial Message, 1879
  2. Biennial Message, 1881

John P. St. John was born at Brooksville, Indiana, in 1833. Soon after moving to Kansas in 1869 he became involved in the crusade to rid the state of liquor and was elected governor on a prohibitionist platform in 1878. During his administration, voters approved an amendment making Kansas a "dry" state. St. John transferred his efforts to the national stage in 1884 when he ran for president as the candidate of the national Prohibition Party. The former governor died at his Olathe home on August 31, 1916.

Governor biographies courtesy of the Kansas Historical Society.