Salt Lake Telegram | 1939-03-17 | Page 3 | Michigan Chief Executive Dies

- MICHIGAN CHIEF . EXECUTIVE DIES LANSING, Mich, March IT (At Th mantle of th 1st Governor " Frank D. Fitzgerald descended today to-day on Lieutenant Governor Luren D. Dickinson, who will bo SO yean old on 'April 15. Dickinson like his predecessor, a Republican automatically succeeded suc-ceeded to th governorship of Michigan Mich-igan when a heart attack ended the career of th 64-year-old Fitzgerald last night. Fitzgerald rose In a quarter of a , century from an unimportant clerkship clerk-ship in th state's service to be elected governor twice. He began his second two-year term last Jan- ury 1. The administration of Frank Murphy, Mur-phy, now United States attorney general, was sandwiched between Fitzgerald's two terms. Murphy, a Democrat, defeated Fitzgerald for reelection at the end of the Republican's Repub-lican's first term, and In turn loot to Fitzgerald when he sought to Ujhgoveraorship. mv enth term as lieutenant governor since his first election to that post In 1814. He is Michigan's first lieu-tenant lieu-tenant governor to ascend tothe 1 governorship, Fitzgerald being the state's first chief executive to die in office. Influenza played a strange part In the change in governors. Fitz- , gerald was ordered to bed with the ailment Monday at his - home in Grsnd Ledge, where he succumbed last night. His physicisn said complications com-plications attributed to an illness several year ago figured in his death. Dickinson la In bed at his residence resi-dence in Charlotte, where he and his wife both are vie Urns of the "flu." His sickroom was chosen . for the administering of the oath aa governor, inasmuch as he was unable to come to the capitol here.