Herbert S. Hadley

Herbert Spencer Hadley (February 20, 1872 – December 1, 1927) was an American lawyer and Republican Party politician from St. Louis, Missouri. Born in Olathe, Kansas, he was Missouri Attorney General from 1905 to 1909 and in 1908 was elected the 32nd governor of Missouri, serving one term from 1909 to 1913. As Attorney General, he successfully prosecuted Standard Oil Company for violating Missouri antitrust law. Entering the 1912 Republican convention, the Roosevelt and Taft forces seemed evenly matched, and Hadley was seen as a possible compromise candidate. While Taft was supportive of the idea, Roosevelt refused.

Early life and family Herbert Spencer Hadley was born on February 20, 1872, in Olathe, Kansas. He was the son of Major John Milton Hadley and Harriet Beach Jones Hadley. He attended the University of Kansas, where he was a member of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and received a Bachelor of Arts in 1892. He earned his law degree from Northwestern University with first honors in 1894. While at Northwestern, he helped establish the Northwestern University Law Review.

Career Hadley practiced law in Kansas City, Missouri. His first public office as Kansas City assistant city counselor began in 1898. He was the prosecuting attorney for Jackson County, Missouri from 1901 to 1903. In this position, Hadley developed a reputation for vigorous prosecution, including an investigation of jury tampering in the civil courts and a campaign against public gambling.

Following his gubernatorial term, Hadley resumed his law practice and worked on a federal railroad valuation project. In 1917, he moved to Colorado for health reasons and was professor of law at the University of Colorado through 1923.