Pat Morris Neff (26 November 1871-20 January 1952) was the Democratic Governor of Texas from 18 January 1921 to 20 January 1925, succeeding William P. Hobby and preceding Miriam A. Ferguson.
Biography[]
Pat Morris Neff was born in Coryell County, Texas in 1871, and he worked as a teacher in Magnolia, Arkansas to save up for law school. On his return to Texas, he befriended future US Senators Tom Connally and Morris Sheppard, and he became active in the Democratic Party and served in the State House from 1899 to 1905, practiced law in Waco, served as McLennan County attorney, and won the governorship in 1920 while running as a progressive Democrat. Neff was a strong supporter of Prohibition, was criticized for not taking a stronger stance against the resurgence of the Ku Klux Klan, and retired after two terms. He went on to serve on the Texas Railroad Commission and served as President of Baylor University from 1932 to 1937 and of the Southern Baptist Convention from 1944 to 1946. He died in 1952 at the age of 80.