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Show 'iWILSON NOT LONG m PUBLIC LIFE Began as Governor of New Jersey in 1910 Chosen President Presi-dent in 1912. Woodrow Wilson was born nt Staunton, Staun-ton, Va., December 28. ISCiO. Ilis father fa-ther wns the Rev. John K. Wilson and his mother wns Jessie Wondrow, a native na-tive of Carlisle, England. They reared their son carefully. He was given every educational advantage that ample menus could afford him. The foundations for his career were laid in private schools at Augusta, Ga., and Columbia, S. C. From there he went to Princeton college, where he took the full academic aca-demic course, graduating with high honors in 1ST0. lie then entered the law school of the University of Virginia, Vir-ginia, and on graduation was admitted to the liar of Georgia. He practiced law in 1S82-S3. The net result of that experiment was the conviction that for him at least the way to a knowledge knowl-edge of the science of government and the opportunity to write about it did not He through the routine of law. When he abandoned law practice in 1SS3 he went to Johns Hopkins university. univer-sity. In 1886 he received the degree of Ph. D. from Johns Hopkins university univer-sity for a thesis on congressional government, gov-ernment, which was afterward enlarged en-larged into a book that met with much success on both sides of the ocean. He was married in 18S5. His wife was Miss Ellen Axson, of Savannah, Ga., daughter of the Rev. Edward Axson. She died in the White House August 6, 1914. December 18, 1015, the president presi-dent married Mrs. Boiling Gait of Washington. Mr. Wilson has three daughters, Miss Margaret Woodrow AVilson, Mrs. Frances Bowes Sayre, and Mrs. William Wil-liam Glbbs McAdoo. Professorship at Princeton. In 1S8S Mr. AVilson was made a member of the faculty of Wesleyan university, Middletown, Conn. He remained re-mained there only two years, his reputation repu-tation as a writer and educator having hav-ing attracted the attention of his alma mater, and he was invited to the chair of jurisprudence and political economy at Princeton. He again joined his fortunes with Princeton when in the fall of 1S90 he took the chair of jurisprudence and politics at that institution. He held this chair at Princeton for twelve years, writing during this period his famous work, "A History of the American Amer-ican People." When President Francis Landey (Patton in 1000 announced his Intention .of retiring, Doctor Wilson was at once looked- upon as his logical successor. iThe fact that he was not an ordained minister at first threatened to stand in the way,, as some of the faculty and board of trustees were not in favor of breaking the old precedent. But the qualifications of Doctor Wilson Wil-son were so- strong that this objection was quickly overridden, and he- was formally installed' as president in 1902. Mr: Wilson remained as the head of Princeton for ten- years-- He had' already al-ready attracted great attention, and even at that time he was pointed1 out as possible presidential timber. He had taken a: part in politics, and' in 1910, when the Democratic organization organiza-tion discovered' that it must put up- a strong candidate to- win the state-, Wilson Wil-son was selected as the man. Mr. Wilson, was elected governor by a plurality of about 50,000. Within.! sia. months after assuming the governorship he had induced, the legislature- to pass a- series of laws of the most advanced type, such as the primary, election taw, the corrupt practices act, the- employers liability act, a public utilities act, a municipal commission government law and sterilization or anti-procreation act. Mentioned for Presidency. In the second year of his governorship, governor-ship, his boom for president was started! start-ed! under the management of William F. McCombs, one of his former students stu-dents at Princeton. During the pre-eonventlon pre-eonventlon months no less that half a dozen other entrants for presidential honors made their appearance. At the subsequent Democratic national na-tional convention at Baltimore, June 27-July 2, Mr. Wilson beat out all entries en-tries with a vote that Increased at each roll call till his victory was recorded re-corded on the forty-sixth ballot. In the election that followed he was an easy victor over the Taft and Roosevelt Roose-velt tickets, though his entire popular vote did not reach that accorded William Wil-liam Jennings Bryan in 190S. The W"ilsons in America date about a century back when James Wilson, grandfather of the president, came over from Scotland and settled in Philadelphia. From there he went to Steubenville, O., which was then on the frontier. He published a newspaper newspa-per and practiced a little common law and was known as "judge." The president's father, Joseph R. AVilson, was born in Steubenville and grew up amid the hardy and manhood-making surroundings of the pioneer country. |