Horner, Henry, 1878-1940

Henry Horner (November 30, 1878 – October 6, 1940) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as Governor of Illinois from January 1933 until his death. He was the first Jewish governor.

Born Henry Levy in Chicago, he assumed his mother's surname of Horner following his parents divorced. After attending the University of Chicago, he earned an LL.B. degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law. After establishing a legal career in Chicago, Horner entered public service. He secured an appointment as a Cook County probate judge, a position he held from 1915 to 1931. Horner won the 1932 Democratic gubernatorial nomination and general election was sworn into the Illinois governorship on January 9, 1933. He was reelected to a second term in 1936. During his tenure, the 18th Amendment was sanctioned, ending prohibition, a two percent sales tax rate was endorsed as well as a state tax on real estate and personal property and a permanent voters registration system was enacted that required voters’ signatures to match records kept on file by election officials.

Horner suffered a stroke four days before the November 1938 election, thereafter spending five months recovering in Florida. Horner's health wavered over the next year until a collapse in the summer of 1940. He convalesced in Winnetka and Highland Park, Illinois from June 1940 until his death in early October. He is interred at Zion Gardens Cemetery in Chicago.