Albert Edson Sleeper was born on December 31, 1862, and died on May 13, 1934. He was an American politician who worked as the 29th governor of Michigan from 1917 to 1921.

Biography

Sleeper was born on December 31, 1862, in Bradford, Vermont. He attended school at the Bradford Academy.

In 1884, he moved to Lexington, Michigan, where he became a successful businessman. He owned several banks and had a large amount of real estate. Sleeper also worked in businesses that sold goods. In 1901, he married Mary C. Moore.

Sleeper served in the Michigan State Senate from 1901 to 1904. The next year, he became a member of the Republican State Committee and held this position until 1907. He then worked as the State Treasurer of Michigan from 1909 to 1913 under Governors Fred M. Warner and Chase Osborn.

Sleeper was elected Governor of Michigan by a popular vote on November 7, 1916, defeating Democrat Edwin F. Sweet. He was re-elected to a second term in 1918. During his time as governor, he helped provide soldiers, supplies, and weapons for World War I. He also created several government departments, including one for animal husbandry, one for labor, and a public utilities commission. Sleeper improved the county road system, started a permanent state police department on April 19, 1917, and helped issue the first driver’s license in the state. He signed the State Parks Act, which created the State Park system, and managed the 1918–1920 Spanish influenza epidemic.

In 1928, Sleeper was a presidential elector in Michigan, helping to choose Herbert Hoover as the U.S. president. He died on May 13, 1934, in Bad Axe, Michigan, at age 71. He is buried at Lexington Municipal Cemetery.

Legacy

In 1944, Huron State Park in Caseville, Michigan, was given a new name: Albert E. Sleeper State Park. The public library in Ubly, Michigan, is also named after Sleeper.