Gray Davis, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of California
Joseph Graham "Gray" Davis Jr. (born December 26, 1942) is an American attorney and former politician who served as the 37th governor of California from 1999 to 2003. In 2003, only a few months into his second term, Davis was recalled and removed from office. A Democrat, he is the second state governor in U.S. history to have been recalled.
Davis holds a Bachelor of Arts in history from Stanford University and a Juris Doctor from Columbia Law School. He was awarded a Bronze Star for his service as a captain in the Vietnam War. Prior to serving as governor, Davis was chief of staff to Governor Jerry Brown (1975–81), a California State Assemblyman (1983–87), California State Controller (1987–95) and the 44th lieutenant governor of California (1995–99).
During his time as governor, Davis made education his top priority and California spent eight billion dollars more than was required under Proposition 98 during his first term. In California, under Davis, standardized test scores increased for five straight years. Davis signed the nation's first state law requiring automakers to limit auto emissions. Davis supported laws to ban assault weapons and is also credited with improving relations between California and Mexico. Davis began his tenure as governor with strong approval ratings, but they declined as voters blamed him for the California electricity crisis, the California budget crisis that followed the bursting of the dot-com bubble, and the car tax.
On October 7, 2003, Davis was recalled. In the recall election, 55.4% of voters supported his removal. He was succeeded in office on November 17, 2003, by actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who won the recall replacement election. After being recalled, Davis worked as a lecturer at the UCLA School of Public Affairs and as an attorney at Loeb & Loeb.
1942Dec, 26
Gray Davis
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Events on 1942
- 25Jan
Thailand
World War II: Thailand declares war on the United States and United Kingdom. - 8Mar
Myanmar
World War II: Imperial Japanese Army forces captured Rangoon, Burma from British. - 10Jul
Soviet Union
Diplomatic relations between the Netherlands and the Soviet Union are established. - 13Aug
Manhattan Project
Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizes the construction of facilities that would house the "Development of Substitute Materials" project, better known as the Manhattan Project. - 25Sep
Holocaust
World War II: Swiss Police instruction dictates that "Under current practice ... refugees on the grounds of race alone are not political refugees", effectively denying entry to Jews trying to flee occupied Europe during the Holocaust.