Senator Henry S. Johnston
1st President Pro Tempore

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Artist: Mike Wimmer Sponsor: Sen. Robert Milacek Dedication: April 28, 1999 Size: 30" x 36" Type: Oil on Canvas Location: Senate Chamber

Henry S. Johnston was born December 30, 1867, near Evansville, Indiana. He migrated to Colorado at the age of twenty-four, where he studied law and was admitted to the Colorado Bar in 1891. Later he came to Perry, Oklahoma Territory, to practice.

He was a member, and temporary presiding officer, of the Constitutional Convention in 1906. He was elected to the Senate in 1907 and was selected as President Pro Tempore for the first session of the Oklahoma legislature. He was elected Governor, took office January 10, 1927, and was impeached on March 20, 1929. Johnston once again was elected to the Oklahoma State Senate in 1932 and served four more years. He continued to maintain a law practice in his beloved home town of Perry in Noble County, until his death on January 7, 1965.

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