(1869-01-15)January 15, 1869 Madisonville, Kentucky, U.S.
Died
March 1, 1941(1941-03-01) (aged 72) Madisonville, Kentucky, U.S.
Political party
Democratic
Spouse
Mary Bryant Nisbet
(m. 1894)
Relations
Polk Laffoon (uncle)
Alma mater
Washington and Lee University School of Law
Profession
Lawyer
Ruby Laffoon (January 15, 1869 – March 1, 1941) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Kentucky from 1931 to 1935. A Kentucky native, at age 17, Laffoon moved to Washington, D.C., to live with his uncle, U.S. Representative Polk Laffoon. He developed an interest in politics and returned to Kentucky, where he compiled a mixed record of victories and defeats in elections at the county and state levels. In 1931, he was chosen as the Democratic gubernatorial nominee by a nominating convention, not a primary, making him the only Kentucky gubernatorial candidate to be chosen by a convention after 1903. In the general election, he defeated Republican William B. Harrison by what was then the largest margin of victory in Kentucky gubernatorial history.
Dubbed "the terrible Turk from Madisonville",[1] Laffoon was confronted with the economic difficulties of the Great Depression. To raise additional revenue for the state treasury, he advocated the enactment of the state's first sales tax. This issue dominated most of his term in office and split the state Democratic Party and Laffoon's own administration. The lieutenant governor, A. B. "Happy" Chandler, led the fight against the tax in the legislature. After the tax was defeated in two regular legislative sessions and one specially called legislative session, Laffoon forged a bipartisan alliance to get the tax passed in a special session in 1934.
Laffoon's feud with Lieutenant Governor Chandler continued throughout his term and affected the 1935 gubernatorial race. (At the time, the lieutenant governor was elected independently from the governor.) Term-limited by the state constitution, Laffoon supported political boss Tom Rhea to succeed him as governor, and convinced the Democrats to again hold a nominating convention to choose their gubernatorial nominee. This would have greatly improved Laffoon's chances of hand-picking his successor. While Laffoon was on a visit to Washington, D.C., Chandler was left as acting governor under the provisions of the Kentucky Constitution. Chandler issued a call for a special legislative session to consider a mandatory primary election bill. Laffoon rushed back to the state to invalidate the call, but the Kentucky Court of Appeals upheld it as constitutional, and the primary law was passed. Chandler defeated Rhea in the primary, and went on to succeed Laffoon as governor. Following his term in office, Laffoon returned to his native Madisonville, where he died of a stroke in 1941.
Among his gubernatorial legacies was appointing a record number of Kentucky Colonels, including Harland Sanders, who would use the title "Colonel" when he opened his chain of Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurants.
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RubyLaffoon (January 15, 1869 – March 1, 1941) was an American attorney and politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Kentucky from 1931 to 1935....
commissions as Kentucky colonels from Kentucky's governors. Governor RubyLaffoon, in office from 1931 to 1935, dramatically increased the number of colonels...
American golfer Polk Laffoon (1844–1906), American politician Reuben Laffoon (1854–1929), Washington state pioneer and lawyer RubyLaffoon (1869–1941), American...
he was elected lieutenant governor, serving under Governor RubyLaffoon. Chandler and Laffoon disagreed on the issue of instituting a state sales tax and...
become part of the new organization. The following year in 1934, Governor RubyLaffoon and Admiral Pettijohn held their first event for the Honorable Order...
was commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel in 1935 by Kentucky governor RubyLaffoon. His local popularity grew, and, in 1939, food critic Duncan Hines visited...
1978, pp. 541–542. "RubyLaffoon". National Governors Association. Retrieved March 1, 2023. Hart, Joe (December 9, 1931). "Laffoon Says He Will Keep Platform...
Democratic nominee RubyLaffoon defeated Republican nominee William B. Harrison with 54.28% of the vote. Major party candidates RubyLaffoon, Democratic William...
the United States District Court for the Western District of Virginia RubyLaffoon, Law 1890 - Governor of Kentucky Joseph Rucker Lamar, Law 1878 - Associate...
December 1827. Governor RubyLaffoon, elected in 1931, was the last governor of Kentucky nominated by a convention. Laffoon's lieutenant governor, Happy...
in 1935, honored as part of the Commonwealth of Kentucky by Governor RubyLaffoon—in recognition of his contributions to his home town and pursuit in raising...
Knox Polk Laffoon (October 24, 1844 – October 22, 1906) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky. Born near Madisonville, Kentucky, Laffoon attended the...
Sanders to be given the honorary title of Kentucky Colonel by Governor RubyLaffoon. In 1937 he expanded his restaurant to 142 seats and added a motel he...
Richard Russell, Jr. (D) William H. Murray (D) Ross S. Sterling (D) 1932 RubyLaffoon (D) Alvin Olin King (D) Martin Sennett Conner (D) 1933 Junius Marion...
for him to be given the honorary title of Kentucky colonel by Governor RubyLaffoon. In 1937, Sanders expanded his restaurant to 140 seats, and in 1940 purchased...
and was state highway commissioner in the administration of Governor RubyLaffoon. Known as "The Sage of Russellville" or "The Gray Fox", Rhea was a powerful...
Chicken who was commissioned an honorary Colonel in 1935 by Governor RubyLaffoon. Sanders received a second commission in 1949. As of 2020, there have...
enact legislation that was not advocated by the governors at the time (RubyLaffoon and Julian Carroll, respectively). In 1967 a Republican, Louie Nunn,...
Park, and dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Governor RubyLaffoon. The fort was named after James Harrod, who led an early party of settlers...
Carnahan, 51st Governor of Missouri Jim Folsom, 42nd Governor of Alabama RubyLaffoon, 43rd Governor of Kentucky Frank L. Hagaman, 31st Governor of Kansas...
archbishop, historian, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1931) 1869 – RubyLaffoon, American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of Kentucky (d. 1941)...
Chandler defeated Tom Rhea, the candidate favored by sitting governor RubyLaffoon. Johnson had also favored Rhea, and had backed Robert T. Crowe over J...
politician March 29 – Bob Schafer, basketball player (d. 2005) March 30 – Joe Ruby, animator (d. 2020) March 31 – Anita Carter, singer (d. 1999) April 1 Stanley...
Governor of West Virginia James L. Kemper, 1842, Governor of Virginia RubyLaffoon, 1890, Governor of Kentucky Henry M. Mathews, 1857, Governor of West...
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