{{short description|American politician}} {{Infobox officeholder |honorific_prefix = |name = John C. Elliott |honorific_suffix = |image = John Elliott.jpg |alt = |caption = |office = [[Governor of American Samoa]] |term_start = July 16, 1952 |term_end = November 23, 1952 |lieutenant = |predecessor = [[Phelps Phelps]] |successor = [[James Arthur Ewing]] |office2 = Secretary of American Samoa |term_start2 = February 23, 1951 |term_end2 = June 20, 1952 |governor2 = [[Phelps Phelps]] |birth_date = January 30, 1919 |birth_place = [[Los Angeles]], [[California]] |death_date = {{Death date and age|2001|8|13|1919|1|30}} |death_place = [[San Marino, California]] |resting_place = San Gabriel Cemetery, [[San Gabriel, California]] |party = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] |spouse = |alma_mater = |occupation = |signature = |signature_alt = }}

'''John C. Elliott''' (January 30, 1919 &ndash; April 13, 2001) was an American politician appointed as the [[governor of American Samoa]].<ref name=profile>{{cite web|title=John C. Elliot|url=http://americansamoa.gov/governors/john-c-elliot|work=Governors|publisher=[[Government of American Samoa]]|accessdate=4 June 2010|year=2010}}</ref> Elliott was born on January 30, 1919, in [[Los Angeles]], [[California]].<ref name=calendar>{{cite web|last=Sorensen |first=Stan |title=The Samoan Historical Calendar, 1606-2007 |url=http://americansamoa.gov/history/samhist_forweb.pdf |publisher=[[Government of American Samoa]] |accessdate=4 June 2010 |author2=Joseph Theroux |pages=30; 89 |year=2007 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227053254/http://americansamoa.gov/history/samhist_forweb.pdf |archivedate=27 February 2009 }}</ref> He died on April 13, 2001, in [[San Marino, California]]. He is buried at the San Gabriel Cemetery in [[San Gabriel, California]].<ref name=calendar/> He took office on July 16, 1952, and left on November 23, 1952,<ref name=profile/> leaving for personal reasons,<ref name=Gray/> and is the youngest man to ever hold the office at 33 years of age.<ref name=calendar/> Prior to his appointment, Elliott had served as the assistant to Governor [[Phelps Phelps]] and [[Secretary of American Samoa]].<ref name=Gray>{{cite book|last=Gray|first=John Alexander Clinton|title=Amerika Samoa|year=1980|publisher=Ayer Publishing|isbn=0-405-13038-4|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=izDwf25jNNcC&dq=%22john+c+elliott%22&pg=PA262|accessdate=4 June 2010|page=262}}</ref>

Elliott was the second DOI-appointed Governor of American Samoa, having previously served as the Secretary of Samoan Affairs under Governor [[Phelps Phelps]]. He was popular among local leaders, with many, including [[Tuiasosopo]] and [[A. P. Lutali]], sending petitions to Washington in his support. Elliott collaborated closely with Tuiasosopo to reorganize the three-year-old American Samoa Legislature. He replaced the upper house, Atoa o Ali'i, with the [[American Samoa Senate]] and reduced the membership of the [[American Samoa House of Representatives]] from 54 to 21. His sudden departure after just three months as Governor was attributed to personal reasons that were never revealed.<ref> Sunia, Fofō Iosefa Fiti (2001). ''Puputoa: Host of Heroes - A record of the history makers in the First Century of American Samoa, 1900-2000''. Suva, Fiji: Oceania Printers. Page 26. ISBN 9829036022.</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

{{s-start}} {{s-gov}} {{succession box |before=[[Phelps Phelps]] |title=[[List of American Samoa Governors|Governor of American Samoa]] |years=1952 |after=[[James Arthur Ewing]]|}} {{s-end}}

{{Governors of American Samoa}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elliott, John C.}} [[Category:1919 births]] [[Category:2001 deaths]] [[Category:Governors of American Samoa]] [[Category:Politicians from Los Angeles]] [[Category:California Democrats]] [[Category:American Samoa Democrats]] [[Category:20th-century California politicians]]