# Sumner Sewall > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sumner_Sewall > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Sumner_Sewall.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumner_Sewall > Source revision: 1350843247 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American politician, 58th Governor of Maine (1897–1965)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Sumner Sewall | image = SumnerSewall.jpg | order1 = 58th | office1 = Governor of Maine | term_start1 = January 1, 1941 | term_end1 = January 3, 1945 | lieutenant1 = | predecessor1 = [Lewis O. Barrows](/source/Lewis_O._Barrows) | successor1 = [Horace Hildreth](/source/Horace_Hildreth) | office2 = Member of the [Maine Senate](/source/Maine_Senate) | term2 = 1936–1940 | office3 = Member of the [Maine House of Representatives](/source/Maine_House_of_Representatives) | term3 = 1934–1936 | birth_date = {{birth date|1897|6|17|mf=y}} | birth_place = [Bath, Maine](/source/Bath%2C_Maine), U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age |1965|01|25|1897|6|17}} | death_place = Bath, Maine, U.S. | resting_place = [Oak Grove Cemetery](/source/Oak_Grove_Cemetery_(Bath%2C_Maine)), Bath, Maine | spouse = | party = [Republican Party](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) | profession = [Businessman](/source/Businessperson), politician, airman | alma_mater = [Harvard College](/source/Harvard_College) | allegiance = United States | branch = [Air Service, United States Army](/source/Air_Service%2C_United_States_Army) | service_years = 1917–1919 | rank = Captain | unit = [95th Aero Squadron](/source/95th_Aero_Squadron) | battles = [World War I](/source/World_War_I) | awards = [Distinguished Service Cross](/source/Distinguished_Service_Cross_(United_States)) with [Oak Leaf Cluster](/source/Oak_Leaf_Cluster), [Croix de Guerre](/source/Croix_de_Guerre) (France), [Legion of Honour](/source/Legion_of_Honour) (France), [Order of the Crown (Belgium)](/source/Order_of_the_Crown_(Belgium)) }} '''Sumner Sewall''' (June 17, 1897{{spaced ndash}}January 25, 1965) was an American [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) politician and airline [executive](/source/executive_(management)) who served as the 58th [governor of Maine](/source/governor_of_Maine) from 1941 to 1945. He began his aviation career during World War I as a [fighter ace](/source/flying_ace). Sewall was a candidate for the [United States Senate](/source/United_States_Senate) in [1948](/source/1948_United_States_Senate_elections), losing to [Margaret Chase Smith](/source/Margaret_Chase_Smith) in the Republican primary. His wife, Helen, was infamous for saying “Why send a woman to [Washington](/source/Washington%2C_D.C.) when you can get a man?” ==Life and career== A native of [Bath, Maine](/source/Bath%2C_Maine), Sewall dropped out of [Harvard College](/source/Harvard_University) in 1917 to go to Europe to aid the Allies during World War I. Sewall served first in the [American Ambulance Field Service](/source/AFS_Intercultural_Programs) from February through August 1917, then in the [U.S. Army Signal Corps](/source/U.S._Army_Signal_Corps), then finally as a [fighter pilot](/source/fighter_pilot) in the [U.S. Army Air Service](/source/U.S._Army_Air_Service), becoming an ace by scoring seven victories. He enlisted in the USAAS in Paris, underwent training, and reported to the [95th Aero Squadron](/source/95th_Aero_Squadron) in February 1918. He was promoted to [Flight Commander](/source/Flight_Commander), and went on to score five victories over enemy planes between 3 June and 18 September 1918, sharing a couple of them with future general [James Knowles](/source/James_Knowles_(aviator)) and [Edward Peck Curtis](/source/Edward_Peck_Curtis). Sewall then became a [balloon buster](/source/balloon_buster), shooting down an observation balloon each on 4 and 5 November. The only victory he did not receive credit for came when German pilot Leutnant Heinz Freiherr von Beaulieu-Marconnay mistakenly landed on the 95th Aero Squadron's airfield, and Sewall and a couple of other American pilots captured him at gunpoint.{{cite book |title= ''American Aces of World War I'' |page= 68–69 }} Sewall returned home with the [Distinguished Service Cross](/source/Distinguished_Service_Cross_(United_States)) with [oak leaf cluster](/source/oak_leaf_cluster), the [French Legion of Honor](/source/L%C3%A9gion_d'honneur), the [Croix de Guerre](/source/Croix_de_Guerre) and the [Order of the Crown of Belgium](/source/Order_of_the_Crown_(Belgium)). After the war, he worked in a variety of jobs, including being an executive with [Colonial Air Transport](/source/Colonial_Air_Transport) and a director of [United Air Lines](/source/United_Air_Lines). His political career began when he became an [alderman](/source/alderman) in Bath in 1933. He was elected to the [Maine state legislature](/source/Maine_Legislature) as a [representative](/source/Maine_House_of_Representatives) in 1934, then as a [senator](/source/Maine_Senate) in 1936 and 1938. After the latter election, he was named [President of the State Senate](/source/List_of_Presidents_of_the_Maine_Senate). In 1940, he was elected governor, and served two terms. Sewall's administration was notable for cleaning up scandals in state government and passing a [minimum wage law](/source/minimum_wage_law) for state teachers. After stepping down as governor, Sewall became president of [American Overseas Airlines](/source/American_Overseas_Airlines) for a year, then served as the military governor of [Württemberg-Baden](/source/W%C3%BCrttemberg-Baden) from 1946 to 1947. In 1948, Sewall finished a distant third in the [Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) primary for [Maine's open United States Senate seat](/source/1948_United_States_Senate_election_in_Maine), which ended his political career. Sewall became president of the Bath National Bank in the 1960s. He died on 25 January 1965. ==Family== Sewall's parents were William Dunning Sewall and Mary Locke Sumner of [Shrewsbury, Massachusetts](/source/Shrewsbury%2C_Massachusetts). Mary was the daughter of George Sumner and Sarah E. Richardson, and she was great-granddaughter of the Reverend Joseph Sumner of the First Congregational Church in Shrewsbury. William D. Sewall and Mary Locke Sumner lived at the Sewall Family Home in Bath, ME known as York Hall. Sewall's grandfather, [Arthur Sewall](/source/Arthur_Sewall), was the [Democratic](/source/Democratic_Party_(United_States)) candidate for [vice president](/source/Vice_President_of_the_United_States) in [1896](/source/1896_United_States_presidential_election). Sewall married Helen Ellena Evans in 1929. They had two sons, David and Nick, and a daughter Alexandria. ==See also== {{Portal|Biography}} * [List of World War I flying aces from the United States](/source/List_of_World_War_I_flying_aces_from_the_United_States) ==References== {{Reflist}} {{Refbegin}} {{Refend}} ==Bibliography== * ''American Aces of World War I.'' Norman Franks, Harry Dempsey. Osprey Publishing, 2001. {{ISBN|1-84176-375-6}}, {{ISBN|978-1-84176-375-0}}. *[Gunther, John](/source/John_Gunther). ''[Inside U.S.A.](/source/Inside_U.S.A._(book))'' New York : Curtis, 1947. 487–489. * Leviero, Anthony. "Low Salary Bars La Follette Job." ''New York Times'' 8 October 1947: 17. * "Mrs. Smith wins in Maine race for Senate; Gov. Hildreth concedes." ''New York Times'' 22 June 1948: 1. * [http://www.maine.gov/legis/senate/history/past/prespast/1939ss.htm "Past President: Sumner Sewall, Republican, 1939–1940"] ==External links== *{{Find a Grave|7232539|access-date=2009-05-18}} {{s-start}} {{s-ppo}} {{s-bef|before=[Lewis O. Barrows](/source/Lewis_O._Barrows)}} {{s-ttl|title=[Republican](/source/Republican_Party_(United_States)) nominee for [Governor of Maine](/source/Governor_of_Maine)|years=[1940](/source/1940_Maine_gubernatorial_election), [1942](/source/1942_Maine_gubernatorial_election)}} {{s-aft|after=[Horace Hildreth](/source/Horace_Hildreth)}} {{s-off}} {{Succession box |before=[Lewis O. Barrows](/source/Lewis_O._Barrows) |years=1941–1945 |after=[Horace A. Hildreth](/source/Horace_A._Hildreth) |title=[Governor of Maine](/source/Governor_of_Maine) }} {{s-end}} {{Presidents of the Maine Senate}} {{Governors of Maine}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Sewall, Sumner}} Category:1897 births Category:1965 deaths Category:People from Bath, Maine Category:Harvard College alumni Category:United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I Category:United States Army officers Category:Republican Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Category:Presidents of the Maine Senate Category:Republican Party Maine state senators Category:Republican Party governors of Maine Category:American chief executives in the airline industry Category:American World War I flying aces Category:Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (United States) Category:American recipients of the Legion of Honour Category:American recipients of the Croix de Guerre 1914–1918 (France) Category:Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) Category:20th-century members of the Maine Legislature Category:Burials at Oak Grove Cemetery (Bath, Maine) --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sumner Sewall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumner_Sewall) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumner_Sewall?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.