Stanley K. Hathaway

Stanley K. Hathaway
40th United States Secretary of the Interior
In office June 12, 1975 – October 9, 1975
President	Gerald Ford
Preceded by	Rogers Morton
Succeeded by	Thomas S. Kleppe
27th Governor of Wyoming
In office 1967–1975
Preceded by	Clifford Hansen
Succeeded by	Edgar Herschler
Personal details
Born	(1924-07-19)July 19, 1924 Osceola, Nebraska
Died	October 4, 2005(2005-10-04) (aged 81) Cheyenne, Wyoming
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Roberta Harley
Alma mater	University of Wyoming University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army Air Corps
Battles/wars	World War II

Stanley Knapp Hathaway (July 19, 1924–October 4, 2005) was a U.S. Republican politician who served as Governor of Wyoming from 1967—1975. Thereafter, he served four months as the United States Secretary of the Interior.

Early life

He was born in Osceola in Polk County in east central Nebraska, the son of Robert and Lily Knapp. Following his mother's death when he was only two years old, he was adopted by Franklin and Velma Hathaway. He entered the University of Wyoming in Laramie but dropped out to join the military. During World War II, he served in the United States Army Air Corps. Following the war, he graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He earned a bachelor's degree in 1948 and a law degree in 1950. He was married to the former Roberta Harley, who died in 2004. The couple had two children.

Political career

From 1954 until his election in 1962 as state Republican Party chairman, he served in Torrington as prosecuting attorney for Goshen County in southeastern Wyoming. He was party chairman for two years until 1964, when Barry M. Goldwater was defeated in Wyoming by U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson.

Hathaway did not seek a third term as governor in 1974 and instead supported trucking executive and State Senator Richard R. "Dick" Jones of Cody and Powell in Park County in northwestern Wyoming. Jones was defeated in a Democratic year by Edgar Herschler of Kemmerer in Lincoln County in southwestern Wyoming.

Upon leaving the governorship, Hathaway joined the Cabinet of his fellow native Nebraskan, U.S. President Gerald Ford before resigning for health reasons. Following his tenure as Interior Secretary, he returned to Wyoming, and co-founded the law firm of Hathaway and Kunz, where he practiced until his death. He died of an undisclosed illness at the age of eighty-one at his home in Cheyenne.

He is remembered for the Hathaway Scholarships available to Wyoming students attending colleges within the state.