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Calvin L. Rampton
Governor 1965-1977
Calvin Lewellyn Rampton (1913-2007) was born in Bountiful, Utah. He attended the University of Utah and served as Davis County Attorney from 1939 to 1941. Rampton also served in Europe during World War II, where he received a Bronze Star and climbed the military ranks. An active Democrat, Rampton ran unsuccessfully for the Utah State Senate in 1954 and United State Senate in 1962. He accepted his party's nomination for governor and won that office in 1964.
Rampton asked the Legislature for increased education spending, passage of three civil rights bills, and the right to use federal funds for urban renewal. The 1967 Legislature acted in accordance with many of his requests, passing a series of landmark legislation for the state.
Rampton easily won re-election in 1968 and 1972, making him Utah's first and only governor to serve three full terms. During his third term, he supported ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. He supported state building projects, including Salt Lake City's Symphony Hall (now Abravanel Hall), the Salt Lake Arts Center (now Utah Museum of Contemporary Art), and numerous public schools.
Throughout his three terms in office, "Cal" Rampton remained a popular governor. The Calvin L. Rampton Complex -- which houses the Utah Department of Transportation and the Utah Department of Public Safety -- and the Cal Rampton Boardroom at the Capitol are named after him. After Rampton's death in 2007, the Salt Palace Convention Center was renamed the Calvin L. Rampton Salt Palace Convention Center in his honor.
Artist
Alvin L. Gittins (1922-1981), one of Utah's finest painters, came from England to study art at Brigham Young University. He later taught for many years at the University of Utah. Gittins was Utah's most dominant portrait painter and was noted for his ability to capture his subject's personality as well as likeness, and for his masterly traditional styles. He also painted Governor Matheson's portrait. |