JOHN HARPER TRUMBULL, the fourth Trumbull to serve as governor of Connecticut [Jonathan Trumbull Sr. (1769-1784); Jonathan Trumbull Jr. (1797-1809); Joseph Trumbull (1849-1850)], was born in Ashford, Connecticut, on March 4, 1873. He received a rudimentary education, attending Connecticut's public school system. Trumbull became a successful businessman who started his own electrical contracting company in 1898. A year later he founded the Trumbull Electric Company, serving as the company's president from 1899 to 1944. Trumbull also served during World War I, and arranged a company of the Connecticut State Guard. He entered politics as a member of the Connecticut State Senate, an office he held from 1921 to 1925. In 1924 he won election to the lieutenant governor's office. On January 8, 1925 Governor Hiram Bingham resigned from office, and Trumbull, who was lieutenant governor at the time, assumed the duties of the governor's office. Trumbull was reelected in 1927 and 1929. During his tenure, he established a sound environment for business expansion, sponsored an aviation development, and launched numerous construction projects. The Great Depression impacted his latter years in office, and he was unsuccessful in rectifying the problems of increasing unemployment and cutbacks in construction and production. Trumbull left office on January 7, 1931, and retired from public service. He stayed active as vice president of the Connecticut Humane Society and the Connecticut Historical Society. Governor John Trumbull died on May 21, 1961, and is buried at the West Cemetery in Plainville, Connecticut.
Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 1, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.
The Trumbull Family Association
The Political Graveyard