David P. Buckson - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

David Penrose Buckson is an American lawyer and politician from Camden, in Kent County, Delaware. He is a veteran of World War II and a member of the Republican Party, who served as the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Delaware

Lieutenant Governor of Delaware

The Lieutenant Governor of Delaware is the second ranking executive officer of the U.S. state of Delaware. Lieutenant Governors are elected for a term of four years in the same general election as the U.S. President and take office the following January....

, the 68th Governor of Delaware and the 37th Attorney General of Delaware.

Early life and family

Buckson was born at Townsend, Delaware, son of Leon and Margaret Hutchison Buckson. He first married Betty Savin in 1945 with whom he had two children, Deborah Gray and Brian Roth. His second wife was Patricia Maloney, who he married in 1962, and with whom he had four children, Marlee, David, Eric and Kent. They were members of the Methodist Church. He graduated from the University of Delaware

University of Delaware

The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

in 1941 with a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army. During World War II Buckson served in the South Pacific and attained the rank of major. Afterwards he resumed studies for a legal career, attending Dickinson College

Dickinson College

Dickinson College is a private, residential liberal arts college in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Originally established as a Grammar School in 1773, Dickinson was chartered September 9, 1783, five days after the signing of the Treaty of Paris, making it the first college to be founded in the newly...

Law School in Carlisle

Carlisle, Pennsylvania

Carlisle is a borough in and the county seat of Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, United States. The name is traditionally pronounced with emphasis on the second syllable. Carlisle is located within the Cumberland Valley, a highly productive agricultural region. As of the 2010 census, the borough...

, Pennsylvania.

Lieutenant Governor of Delaware

In 1955 Buckson was appointed a Judge in the Court of Common Pleas. A year later, in 1956, he was elected Lieutenant Governor, defeating Vernon Derrickson. He served one term from January 15, 1957 to December 30, 1960. At the end of his term, in 1960, he sought the Republican Party nomination for Governor, but lost it to John W. Rollins. However, he became Governor upon the resignation of Governor J. Caleb Boggs, who left to start his first U.S. Senate term, and served the remaining 18 days of Boggs' second term.

Professional and political career

In 1962, Buckson was elected Delaware State Attorney General and served two terms, from January 15, 1963 until January 19, 1971. He was a candidate for Governor again in 1964, when he lost to Democratic former Chief Justice Charles L. Terry, Jr., and finally in 1972, when he failed to receive the Republican nomination.

Buckson was later appointed by Governor Sherman W. Tribbitt

Sherman W. Tribbitt

Sherman Willard Tribbitt was an American merchant and politician from Odessa, in New Castle County, Delaware...

to be a Judge in the Family Court of Delaware where he earned a reputation for dispatching justice in the most efficient, judicious, and evenhanded manner.

Buckson was the first Delaware attorney to have offices in more than one county. He is widely recognized to have been the founder of Dover Downs

Dover Downs

Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment ownes Dover Downs Hotel & Casino a hotel and casino that has a racing facility that holds harness horse racing on a track and NASCAR events on a concrete surface. The Sprint Cup track is now known as Dover International Speedway, and the Dover Downs name is...

, a volunteer fireman, decorated veteran and officer of World War II and Commander of a National Guard unit. He has also been City Solicitor for the Delaware municipalities of Newark

Newark, Delaware

Newark is an American city in New Castle County, Delaware, west-southwest of Wilmington. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the city is 31,454. Newark is the home of the University of Delaware.- History :...

, Middletown

Middletown, Delaware

Middletown is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. According to the 2010 Census, the population of the town is 18,871.-Geography:Middletown is located at with an elevation of ....

, Townsend

Townsend, Delaware

Townsend is a town in New Castle County, Delaware, United States. The population was 2,049 at the 2010 census, an increase of 492.2% from 2000...

, Smyrna

Smyrna, Delaware

Smyrna is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area...

, Clayton

Clayton, Delaware

Clayton is a town in Kent and New Castle counties in the U.S. state of Delaware. Located almost entirely in Kent County, it is part of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2.918 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...

, and Dover

Dover, Delaware

The city of Dover is the capital and second largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. It is also the county seat of Kent County, and the principal city of the Dover, Delaware Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Kent County. It is located on the St. Jones River in the Delaware...

, all at the same time.

Almanac

Elections are held the first Tuesday after November 1. The Lieutenant Governor and State Attorney General take office the third Tuesday of January and both have four year terms, filling the Governor office when it was vacated.

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=12 style="background: #ccccff;" |Delaware General Assembly

Delaware General Assembly

The Delaware General Assembly is the legislature of the U.S. state of Delaware. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Delaware Senate with 21 Senators and the Delaware House of Representatives with 41 Representatives...

(session while Governor)
|-
!Year
!Assembly
!Senate Majority
!President
pro tempore
!House Majority
!Speaker
|-
|1961
|120th

Delaware General Assembly

| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

| |Allen J. Cook
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |Sherman W. Tribbitt

Sherman W. Tribbitt

Sherman Willard Tribbitt was an American merchant and politician from Odessa, in New Castle County, Delaware...

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=7 style="background: #ccccff;" |Public Offices
|-
! Office
! Type
! Location
! Began office
! Ended office
! notes
|-
|Lt. Governor

Lieutenant Governor of Delaware

|Executive

Executive (government)

Executive branch of Government is the part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the state bureaucracy. The division of power into separate branches of government is central to the idea of the separation of powers.In many countries, the term...

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|January 15, 1957
|December 30, 1960
|Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

|-
|Governor
|Executive

Executive (government)

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|December 30, 1960
|January 17, 1961
|Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

|-
|Attorney General

Delaware Attorney General

The Attorney General of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Delaware, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice.-Description of the office:...

|Executive

Executive (government)

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|January 15, 1963
|January 17, 1967
|Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

|-
|Attorney General

Delaware Attorney General

The Attorney General of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Delaware, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice.-Description of the office:...

|Executive

Executive (government)

|Dover

Dover, Delaware

|January 17, 1967
|January 19, 1971
|Delaware

Delaware

Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...

{|class=wikitable style="width: 94%" style="text-align: center;" align="center"
|-bgcolor=#cccccc
!colspan=13 style="background: #ccccff;" |Election results
|-
!Year
!Office
!Election
!
!Subject
!Party
!Votes
!%
!
!Opponent
!Party
!Votes
!%
|-
|1956
|Lt. Governor

Lieutenant Governor of Delaware

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

| |92,254
| |52%
|
| |Vernon B. Derrickson
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |81,121
| |48%
|-
|1962
|Attorney General

Delaware Attorney General

The Attorney General of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Delaware, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice.-Description of the office:...

Republican Party (United States)

| |77,666
| |51%
|
| |John Biggs, III
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |75,064
| |49%
|-
|1964
|Governor
|General
|
| |David P. Buckson
| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |97,374
| |49%
|
| |Charles L. Terry, Jr.

Charles L. Terry, Jr.

Charles Layman "Charlie" Terry, Jr. was an American lawyer and politician from Dover, in Kent County, Delaware. He was a member of the Democratic Party, who served as Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court and as Governor of Delaware.-Early life and family:Terry was born at Camden, Delaware,...

| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |102,797
| |51%
|-
|1966
|Attorney General

Delaware Attorney General

The Attorney General of Delaware is a constitutional officer of the U.S. state of Delaware, and is the chief law officer and the head of the State Department of Justice.-Description of the office:...

Republican Party (United States)

| |96,595
| |59%
|
| |Sidney Balick
| |Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

| |66,848
| |41%
|-
|1972
|Governor
|Primary

Primary election

A primary election is an election in which party members or voters select candidates for a subsequent election. Primary elections are one means by which a political party nominates candidates for the next general election....

Republican Party (United States)

| |20,138
| |46%
|
| |Russell W. Peterson

Russell W. Peterson

Russell Wilbur "Russ" Peterson was an American scientist and politician from Wilmington, Delaware. He served as Governor of Delaware as a member of the Republican Party...

| |Republican

Republican Party (United States)

| |23,929
| |54%

Images

Hall of Governors Portrait Gallery; Portrait courtesy of Historical and Cultural Affairs, Dover.

External links

Places with more information

Delaware Historical Society
Delaware Historical Society
The Delaware Historical Society began in 1864 as an effort to preserve documents from the Civil War. Since then, it has expanded into a state-wide historical institution with several venues and a major museum in Wilmington and the historic Read House & Gardens in New Castle.The society...

; website; 505 North Market Street, Wilmington, Delaware 19801; (302) 655-7161
University of Delaware
University of Delaware
The university is organized into seven colleges:* College of Agriculture and Natural Resources* College of Arts and Sciences* Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics* College of Earth, Ocean and Environment* College of Education and Human Development...

; Library website; 181 South College Avenue, Newark, Delaware 19717; (302) 831-2965

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.