Horace White

For other people named Horace White, see Horace White (disambiguation).

Horace White (October 7, 1865 – November 27, 1943) was an American lawyer and politician from New York. He was the 37th governor of New York from October 6, 1910, to December 31, 1910.

Horace White
37th Governor of New York
In office October 6, 1910 – December 31, 1910
Lieutenant	George H. Cobb (acting)
Preceded by	Charles Evans Hughes
Succeeded by	John Alden Dix
Lieutenant Governor of New York
In office January 1, 1909 – October 6, 1910
Governor	Charles Evans Hughes
Preceded by	Lewis Stuyvesant Chanler
Succeeded by	George H. Cobb (acting)
Member of the New York State Senate from the 38th District
In office January 1, 1907 – December 31, 1908
Preceded by	Harvey D. Hinman
Succeeded by	Hendrick S. Holden
Member of the New York State Senate from the 36th District
In office January 1, 1896 – December 31, 1906
Preceded by	new district
Succeeded by	Joseph Ackroyd
Personal details
Born	(1865-10-07)October 7, 1865 Buffalo, New York, U.S.
Died	November 27, 1943(1943-11-27) (aged 78) New York City, New York, U.S.
Resting place	Oakwood Cemetery, Syracuse, New York
Political party	Republican
Education	Cornell University Columbia Law School
Profession	Attorney

Life

He attended Syracuse Central High School, Cornell University (graduated 1887), and Columbia Law School (graduated 1889),^[1] and opened the firm of White, Cheney, Shinaman, and O'Neill in Syracuse, New York, in the late 1880s or early 1890s. While at Cornell he was a member of Kappa Alpha Society.

Supplement from New-York Tribune from November 1, 1908, introducing readers to Horace White, then-candidate for Lieutenant Governor of New York.

He was a member of the New York State Senate (36th D. and 38th D.) from 1896 to 1906 and from 1907 to 1908 sitting in the 119th, 120th, 121st, 122nd, 123rd, 124th, 125th, 126th, 127th, 128th, 129th, 130th and 131st New York State Legislatures; and participated in the drawing of the consolidation charter of the City of New York.^[2]

He was Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1909 to 1910, elected at the New York state election, 1908 on the Republican ticket with Governor Charles Evans Hughes. Hughes resigned in October 1910 when he was appointed to the United States Supreme Court, and White succeeded to the governorship, remaining in office until the end of the year.

White served as a trustee of Cornell University from 1916 to 1943. White, who was the nephew of Cornell's first President, Andrew Dickson White, left three-quarters of his estate to the university, and that fund had grown to $1.5 million by 1973.^[3] In White's honor, in 1973, Cornell named two professorships after him: the first two Cornell faculty to become Horace White Professors were Michael Fisher and Jack Kiefer.^[3] He was also active in Syracuse, serving as president of the Post-Standard Company and participating in numerous other civil, social, and business organizations.^[2]

White once owned Fox Island in the east of Lake Ontario, located in the Town of Cape Vincent.

White was the last governor to come from Western New York until Kathy Hochul became Governor after the resignation of Andrew Cuomo in 2021.

He was buried at Oakwood Rural Cemetery in Syracuse, New York.^[4]