{"history":[],"article":{"id":"a9553557-491e-44df-8e1f-c8a5413d3455","title":"Milward Simpson","slug":"milward-simpson","content":":::summary\n**Image Name:** Milward Simpson (WY).png \n**Office:** [United States Senator](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-states-senate) · from [Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/wyoming) \n**Term Start:** November 6, 1962 \n**Term End:** January 3, 1967 \n**Predecessor:** [John J. Hickey](https://bliptext.com/articles/john-j-hickey) \n**Successor:** [Clifford Hansen](https://bliptext.com/articles/clifford-hansen) \n**Order 2:** 23rd \n**Office 2:** Governor of Wyoming \n**Term Start 2:** January 3, 1955 \n**Term End 2:** January 5, 1959 \n**Predecessor 2:** [Clifford Joy Rogers](https://bliptext.com/articles/clifford-joy-rogers) \n**Successor 2:** [John J. Hickey](https://bliptext.com/articles/john-j-hickey) \n**Office 4:** Member of the [Wyoming House of Representatives](https://bliptext.com/articles/wyoming-house-of-representatives) \n**Term 4:** 1926–1927 \n**Birth Name:** Milward Lee Simpson \n**Birth Date:** November 12, 1897 \n**Birth Place:** [Jackson, Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/jackson-wyoming), U.S. \n**Death Date:** June 11, 1993 \n**Death Place:** [Cody, Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/cody-wyoming), U.S. \n**Party:** [Republican](https://bliptext.com/articles/republican-party-united-states) \n**Spouse:** Lorna Kooi Simpson \n**Children:** [Pete Simpson](https://bliptext.com/articles/pete-simpson) · [Alan K. Simpson](https://bliptext.com/articles/alan-k-simpson) \n**Alma Mater:** [University of Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/university-of-wyoming) · [Harvard Law School](https://bliptext.com/articles/harvard-law-school) \n**Profession:** Attorney; businessman \n**Branch:** [United States Army](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-states-army) \n**Battles:** [World War I](https://bliptext.com/articles/world-war-i) \n:::\n\n# \n**Milward Lee Simpson** (November 12, 1897 – June 11, 1993) was an American politician who served as a [U.S. Senator](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-states-senate) and as the [23rd Governor of Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/list-of-governors-of-wyoming), the first born in the state.\nIn 1985, he was inducted into the [Hall of Great Westerners](https://bliptext.com/articles/hall-of-great-westerners) of the [National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum](https://bliptext.com/articles/national-cowboy-western-heritage-museum).\n\n# Life and career\nSimpson was born in [Jackson, Teton County, Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/jackson-wyoming), the son of Margaret Louise Burnett (maiden; 1874–1974) and W.L. \"Billy\" Simpson (né William Lee Simpson; 1868–1940).\nHe attended public schools in [Meeteetse](https://bliptext.com/articles/meeteetse-wyoming) and [Cody](https://bliptext.com/articles/cody-wyoming).\nHe graduated from [Cody High School](https://bliptext.com/articles/cody-high-school-wyoming) in 1916.\nIn June 1917, at age 19, Simpson graduated from the [Tome School for Boys](https://bliptext.com/articles/tome-school) in [Port Deposit, Maryland](https://bliptext.com/articles/port-deposit-maryland).\nAs one of fifteen graduates, he was awarded Best All-Round Athlete for his outstanding performance on the school's football, basketball, and baseball teams.\n[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://bliptext.com/articles/franklin-d-roosevelt), who at the time was Assistant Secretary of the Navy, was the Commencement Speaker.\nDuring [World War I](https://bliptext.com/articles/world-war-i), Simpson served as a [second lieutenant](https://bliptext.com/articles/second-lieutenant) in the infantry, [United States Army](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-states-army).\n# [Simpson as Senator. | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Milwardsimpson.jpg]\n\n## Higher education\nAfter the war, he attended the [University of Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/university-of-wyoming), and in 1921, earned an [AB](https://bliptext.com/articles/bachelor-of-arts) degree.\nWhile a student at UW, he was both an athlete and a member of the university's [debate](https://bliptext.com/articles/debate) team.\nSimpson was in the same class as [W. Edwards Deming](https://bliptext.com/articles/w-edwards-deming) (1900–1993), credited for, among other things, launching the [Total Quality Management](https://bliptext.com/articles/total-quality-management) movement.\nHe was also in the same fraternity, [Alpha Tau Omega](https://bliptext.com/articles/alpha-tau-omega), as [Glenn Parker](https://bliptext.com/articles/glenn-parker-judge) (1898–1989), whom he appointed to the [Wyoming Supreme Court](https://bliptext.com/articles/wyoming-supreme-court) when he became Governor in 1955.\nFrom 1921 to 1923 and from 1924 to 1925, he attended [Harvard Law School](https://bliptext.com/articles/harvard-law-school), but did not graduate.\n\n## Career\nIn 1924, while studying at Harvard, Simpson took over his father's law practice.\nHe was admitted to the Wyoming Bar Association in 1926 and practiced law in Cody until 1955 when he became governor of Wyoming.\n** Death **\nHe died on June 11, 1993 at a nursing home in [Cody, Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/cody-wyoming) from [Parkinson's disease](https://bliptext.com/articles/parkinson-s-disease) at the age of 95.\nHe was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Cody, Wyoming.\n\n# Wyoming government and U.S. government\nSimpson served as a Republican member of the [Wyoming House of Representatives](https://bliptext.com/articles/wyoming-house-of-representatives) for one two-year term, from 1926 to 1927.\nHe was a member of the board of trustees of the University of Wyoming in 1939 and president of the board from 1943 to 1954.\nHe was a member of the National Association of Governing Boards of State Universities and Allied Institutions and served as president of the body from 1952 to 1953.\nMilward Simpson ran for the U.S. Senate against [Joseph C. O'Mahoney](https://bliptext.com/articles/joseph-c-o-mahoney) in 1940, but was defeated 58.7% to 41.3%.\nSimpson was narrowly elected governor in November 1954.\nHe defeated the [Democrat](https://bliptext.com/articles/democratic-party-united-states) William Jack, 56,275 (50.5 percent) to 55,163 (49.5 percent).\nSimpson was unseated after a single term in 1958, a heavily Democratic year nationally, after a single term in office by [John J. Hickey](https://bliptext.com/articles/john-j-hickey) of [Rawlins](https://bliptext.com/articles/rawlins-wyoming) in [Carbon County](https://bliptext.com/articles/carbon-county-wyoming), 55,070 (48.9 percent) to 52,488 (46.6 percent).\nHe resumed his law practice in 1959.\nSimpson won a [special election](https://bliptext.com/articles/special-election) on November 6, 1962, to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Republican Senator-elect [Edwin Keith Thomson](https://bliptext.com/articles/edwin-keith-thomson) in the term ending January 3, 1967; he was not a candidate for Senate reelection in 1966 but was succeeded by outgoing Governor [Clifford Hansen](https://bliptext.com/articles/clifford-hansen) of [Jackson](https://bliptext.com/articles/jackson-wyoming).\nSimpson lived in Cody until his death in 1993 at the age of 95.\n\n## Voting record and policies\nAs governor, Simpson advocated for, and signed into law the Wyoming Civil Rights Act of 1957, a measure aimed at abolishing racial segregation in the state.\nHowever, as a U.S. Senator, Simpson was one of six Republicans – the others being [Barry Goldwater](https://bliptext.com/articles/barry-goldwater) of [Arizona](https://bliptext.com/articles/arizona), [Norris Cotton](https://bliptext.com/articles/norris-cotton) of [New Hampshire](https://bliptext.com/articles/new-hampshire), [Bourke B. Hickenlooper](https://bliptext.com/articles/bourke-b-hickenlooper) of [Iowa](https://bliptext.com/articles/iowa), [Edwin Mechem](https://bliptext.com/articles/edwin-mechem) of [New Mexico](https://bliptext.com/articles/new-mexico), and [John Tower](https://bliptext.com/articles/john-tower) of [Texas](https://bliptext.com/articles/texas) – who voted against the [Civil Rights Act of 1964](https://bliptext.com/articles/civil-rights-act-of-1964).\nSimpson voted in favor of the [Voting Rights Act of 1965](https://bliptext.com/articles/voting-rights-act-of-1965).\n\n# Sports\nSimpson played football, basketball, and baseball for the University of Wyoming in 1917, 1919–1920, and 1920–1921.\nHe has been chronicled as the first to simultaneously serve as captain of three intercollegiate sports at the University.\nIn 1996, Simpson was inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame.\nAround 1921 and 1924, Simpson played semi-professional baseball in [Red Lodge, Montana](https://bliptext.com/articles/red-lodge-montana), and Cody.\nOne of his teammates was the subsequent [Lieutenant Governor](https://bliptext.com/articles/lieutenant-governor-of-louisiana) and Education Superintendent [Bill Dodd](https://bliptext.com/articles/bill-dodd) of [Louisiana](https://bliptext.com/articles/louisiana).\nThey became close friends.\n[Sports Illustrated](https://bliptext.com/articles/sports-illustrated) ranks Simpson, as a multisport star, Wyoming's 28th Greatest Sports Figure of the 20th Century.\n\n# Family\nSimpson – on June 29, 1929, in [Sheridan](https://bliptext.com/articles/sheridan-wyoming) – married Lorna Helen Kooi (1900–1995).\nThey had two sons, both of whom have the middle name \"Kooi.\"\nThe younger son, [Alan K. Simpson](https://bliptext.com/articles/alan-k-simpson), served in the Wyoming House from [Park County](https://bliptext.com/articles/park-county-wyoming) from 1965 to 1977 and in the United States Senate as a Republican from 1979 to 1997.\nAlan Simpson was the [Senate Republican Whip](https://bliptext.com/articles/senate-republican-whip) during the early 1990s.\nAn older son, [Peter K. Simpson](https://bliptext.com/articles/pete-simpson), is a retired historian and administrator at the University of Wyoming, who served in the state House from 1981 to 1984 from [Sheridan County](https://bliptext.com/articles/sheridan-county-wyoming), where he was then residing while serving as an administrator at [Sheridan College](https://bliptext.com/articles/sheridan-college).\nMilward Simpson's grandson (by way of [Alan Simpson](https://bliptext.com/articles/alan-simpson-american-politician)), [Colin M. Simpson](https://bliptext.com/articles/colin-m-simpson), is a former member of the Wyoming House from Cody, who lost a Republican primary for governor in 2010 to [Matt Mead](https://bliptext.com/articles/matt-mead) of Jackson, a grandson of Clifford Hansen.\n\n## General references\n

","current_revision":null,"created_by":"kACnuQmH5k9Nr5VNVEpVeg7XpvUmMctD","created_at":"2025-01-25T22:35:58.138Z","updated_at":"2025-01-25T22:35:58.138Z","search_vector":"'milward':1 'simpson':2","search_content":" \n**Image Name:** Milward Simpson (WY).png \n**Office:** [United States Senator](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-states-senate) · from [Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/wyoming) \n**Term Start:** November 6, 1962 \n**Term End:** January 3, 1967 \n**Predecessor:** [John J. Hickey](https://bliptext.com/articles/john-j-hickey) \n**Successor:** [Clifford Hansen](https://bliptext.com/articles/clifford-hansen) \n**Order 2:** 23rd \n**Office 2:** Governor of Wyoming \n**Term Start 2:** January 3, 1955 \n**Term End 2:** January 5, 1959 \n**Predecessor 2:** [Clifford Joy Rogers](https://bliptext.com/articles/clifford-joy-rogers) \n**Successor 2:** [John J. Hickey](https://bliptext.com/articles/john-j-hickey) \n**Office 4:** Member of the [Wyoming House of Representatives](https://bliptext.com/articles/wyoming-house-of-representatives) \n**Term 4:** 1926–1927 \n**Birth Name:** Milward Lee Simpson \n**Birth Date:** November 12, 1897 \n**Birth Place:** [Jackson, Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/jackson-wyoming), U.S. \n**Death Date:** June 11, 1993 \n**Death Place:** [Cody, Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/cody-wyoming), U.S. \n**Party:** [Republican](https://bliptext.com/articles/republican-party-united-states) \n**Spouse:** Lorna Kooi Simpson \n**Children:** [Pete Simpson](https://bliptext.com/articles/pete-simpson) · [Alan K. Simpson](https://bliptext.com/articles/alan-k-simpson) \n**Alma Mater:** [University of Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/university-of-wyoming) · [Harvard Law School](https://bliptext.com/articles/harvard-law-school) \n**Profession:** Attorney; businessman \n**Branch:** [United States Army](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-states-army) \n**Battles:** [World War I](https://bliptext.com/articles/world-war-i) \n \n\n# \n**Milward Lee Simpson** (November 12, 1897 – June 11, 1993) was an American politician who served as a [U.S. Senator](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-states-senate) and as the [23rd Governor of Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/list-of-governors-of-wyoming), the first born in the state.\nIn 1985, he was inducted into the [Hall of Great Westerners](https://bliptext.com/articles/hall-of-great-westerners) of the [National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum](https://bliptext.com/articles/national-cowboy-western-heritage-museum).\n\n# Life and career\nSimpson was born in [Jackson, Teton County, Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/jackson-wyoming), the son of Margaret Louise Burnett (maiden; 1874–1974) and W.L. \"Billy\" Simpson (né William Lee Simpson; 1868–1940).\nHe attended public schools in [Meeteetse](https://bliptext.com/articles/meeteetse-wyoming) and [Cody](https://bliptext.com/articles/cody-wyoming).\nHe graduated from [Cody High School](https://bliptext.com/articles/cody-high-school-wyoming) in 1916.\nIn June 1917, at age 19, Simpson graduated from the [Tome School for Boys](https://bliptext.com/articles/tome-school) in [Port Deposit, Maryland](https://bliptext.com/articles/port-deposit-maryland).\nAs one of fifteen graduates, he was awarded Best All-Round Athlete for his outstanding performance on the school's football, basketball, and baseball teams.\n[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://bliptext.com/articles/franklin-d-roosevelt), who at the time was Assistant Secretary of the Navy, was the Commencement Speaker.\nDuring [World War I](https://bliptext.com/articles/world-war-i), Simpson served as a [second lieutenant](https://bliptext.com/articles/second-lieutenant) in the infantry, [United States Army](https://bliptext.com/articles/united-states-army).\n# [Simpson as Senator. | upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9a/Milwardsimpson.jpg]\n\n## Higher education\nAfter the war, he attended the [University of Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/university-of-wyoming), and in 1921, earned an [AB](https://bliptext.com/articles/bachelor-of-arts) degree.\nWhile a student at UW, he was both an athlete and a member of the university's [debate](https://bliptext.com/articles/debate) team.\nSimpson was in the same class as [W. Edwards Deming](https://bliptext.com/articles/w-edwards-deming) (1900–1993), credited for, among other things, launching the [Total Quality Management](https://bliptext.com/articles/total-quality-management) movement.\nHe was also in the same fraternity, [Alpha Tau Omega](https://bliptext.com/articles/alpha-tau-omega), as [Glenn Parker](https://bliptext.com/articles/glenn-parker-judge) (1898–1989), whom he appointed to the [Wyoming Supreme Court](https://bliptext.com/articles/wyoming-supreme-court) when he became Governor in 1955.\nFrom 1921 to 1923 and from 1924 to 1925, he attended [Harvard Law School](https://bliptext.com/articles/harvard-law-school), but did not graduate.\n\n## Career\nIn 1924, while studying at Harvard, Simpson took over his father's law practice.\nHe was admitted to the Wyoming Bar Association in 1926 and practiced law in Cody until 1955 when he became governor of Wyoming.\n** Death **\nHe died on June 11, 1993 at a nursing home in [Cody, Wyoming](https://bliptext.com/articles/cody-wyoming) from [Parkinson's disease](https://bliptext.com/articles/parkinson-s-disease) at the age of 95.\nHe was buried at Riverside Cemetery in Cody, Wyoming.\n\n# Wyoming government and U.S. government\nSimpson served as a Republican member of the [Wyoming House of Representatives](https://bliptext.com/articles/wyoming-house-of-representatives) for one two-year term, from 1926 to 1927.\nHe was a member of the board of trustees of the University of Wyoming in 1939 and president of the board from 1943 to 1954.\nHe was a member of the National Association of Governing Boards of State Universities and Allied Institutions and served as president of the body from 1952 to 1953.\nMilward Simpson ran for the U.S. Senate against [Joseph C. O'Mahoney](https://bliptext.com/articles/joseph-c-o-mahoney) in 1940, but was defeated 58.7% to 41.3%.\nSimpson was narrowly elected governor in November 1954.\nHe defeated the [Democrat](https://bliptext.com/articles/democratic-party-united-states) William Jack, 56,275 (50.5 percent) to 55,163 (49.5 percent).\nSimpson was unseated after a single term in 1958, a heavily Democratic year nationally, after a single term in office by [John J. Hickey](https://bliptext.com/articles/john-j-hickey) of [Rawlins](https://bliptext.com/articles/rawlins-wyoming) in [Carbon County](https://bliptext.com/articles/carbon-county-wyoming), 55,070 (48.9 percent) to 52,488 (46.6 percent).\nHe resumed his law practice in 1959.\nSimpson won a [special election](https://bliptext.com/articles/special-election) on November 6, 1962, to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Republican Senator-elect [Edwin Keith Thomson](https://bliptext.com/articles/edwin-keith-thomson) in the term ending January 3, 1967; he was not a candidate for Senate reelection in 1966 but was succeeded by outgoing Governor [Clifford Hansen](https://bliptext.com/articles/clifford-hansen) of [Jackson](https://bliptext.com/articles/jackson-wyoming).\nSimpson lived in Cody until his death in 1993 at the age of 95.\n\n## Voting record and policies\nAs governor, Simpson advocated for, and signed into law the Wyoming Civil Rights Act of 1957, a measure aimed at abolishing racial segregation in the state.\nHowever, as a U.S. Senator, Simpson was one of six Republicans – the others being [Barry Goldwater](https://bliptext.com/articles/barry-goldwater) of [Arizona](https://bliptext.com/articles/arizona), [Norris Cotton](https://bliptext.com/articles/norris-cotton) of [New Hampshire](https://bliptext.com/articles/new-hampshire), [Bourke B. Hickenlooper](https://bliptext.com/articles/bourke-b-hickenlooper) of [Iowa](https://bliptext.com/articles/iowa), [Edwin Mechem](https://bliptext.com/articles/edwin-mechem) of [New Mexico](https://bliptext.com/articles/new-mexico), and [John Tower](https://bliptext.com/articles/john-tower) of [Texas](https://bliptext.com/articles/texas) – who voted against the [Civil Rights Act of 1964](https://bliptext.com/articles/civil-rights-act-of-1964).\nSimpson voted in favor of the [Voting Rights Act of 1965](https://bliptext.com/articles/voting-rights-act-of-1965).\n\n# Sports\nSimpson played football, basketball, and baseball for the University of Wyoming in 1917, 1919–1920, and 1920–1921.\nHe has been chronicled as the first to simultaneously serve as captain of three intercollegiate sports at the University.\nIn 1996, Simpson was inducted into the University of Wyoming Athletics Hall of Fame.\nAround 1921 and 1924, Simpson played semi-professional baseball in [Red Lodge, Montana](https://bliptext.com/articles/red-lodge-montana), and Cody.\nOne of his teammates was the subsequent [Lieutenant Governor](https://bliptext.com/articles/lieutenant-governor-of-louisiana) and Education Superintendent [Bill Dodd](https://bliptext.com/articles/bill-dodd) of [Louisiana](https://bliptext.com/articles/louisiana).\nThey became close friends.\n[Sports Illustrated](https://bliptext.com/articles/sports-illustrated) ranks Simpson, as a multisport star, Wyoming's 28th Greatest Sports Figure of the 20th Century.\n\n# Family\nSimpson – on June 29, 1929, in [Sheridan](https://bliptext.com/articles/sheridan-wyoming) – married Lorna Helen Kooi (1900–1995).\nThey had two sons, both of whom have the middle name \"Kooi.\"\nThe younger son, [Alan K. Simpson](https://bliptext.com/articles/alan-k-simpson), served in the Wyoming House from [Park County](https://bliptext.com/articles/park-county-wyoming) from 1965 to 1977 and in the United States Senate as a Republican from 1979 to 1997.\nAlan Simpson was the [Senate Republican Whip](https://bliptext.com/articles/senate-republican-whip) during the early 1990s.\nAn older son, [Peter K. Simpson](https://bliptext.com/articles/pete-simpson), is a retired historian and administrator at the University of Wyoming, who served in the state House from 1981 to 1984 from [Sheridan County](https://bliptext.com/articles/sheridan-county-wyoming), where he was then residing while serving as an administrator at [Sheridan College](https://bliptext.com/articles/sheridan-college).\nMilward Simpson's grandson (by way of [Alan Simpson](https://bliptext.com/articles/alan-simpson-american-politician)), [Colin M. Simpson](https://bliptext.com/articles/colin-m-simpson), is a former member of the Wyoming House from Cody, who lost a Republican primary for governor in 2010 to [Matt Mead](https://bliptext.com/articles/matt-mead) of Jackson, a grandson of Clifford Hansen.\n\n## General references\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n ","revisionCount":0},"hasMore":false,"nextCursor":null}

History