Editing Goodwin Knight (section)

{{short description|31st Governor of California}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Goodwin Knight 
| image               = Goodwin J. Knight, 31st Governor of California Crop Edit.jpg
| caption             = Knight {{circa}} 1956
| order1              = 31st
| office1             = Governor of California
| term_start1         = October 5, 1953
| term_end1           = January 5, 1959
| lieutenant1         = [[Harold J. Powers]]
| predecessor1        = [[Earl Warren]]
| successor1          = [[Pat Brown]]
| order2              = 35th
| office2             = Lieutenant Governor of California
| governor2           = [[Earl Warren]]
| term_start2         = January 7, 1947
| term_end2           = October 5, 1953
| predecessor2        = [[Frederick F. Houser]]
| successor2          = [[Harold J. Powers]]
| office3             = Judge of the<br />[[Los Angeles County Superior Court]]
| appointed3          = [[Frank Merriam]]
| term_start3         = September 23, 1935
| term_end3           = January 7, 1947
| predecessor3        = 
| successor3          = 
| birth_name          = Goodwin Jess Knight
| birth_date          = {{birth date|1896|12|9|mf=y}}
| birth_place         = [[Provo, Utah]], U.S.
| death_date          = {{death date and age |1970|5|22|1896|12|9}}
| death_place         = [[Inglewood, California]], U.S.
| party               = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| spouse              = {{plainlist|
* {{Marriage|Arvilla Cooley|1925|1952|end=died}}
* {{Marriage|Virginia Carlson|1954}}
}}
| children            = 2
| profession          = [[Judge]]
| alma_mater          = [[Stanford University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]])
| allegiance          = United States
| branch              = United States Navy
| serviceyears        = 1918–1919
| rank                = [[Seaman (rank)|Seaman]]
| battles             = [[World War I]]
}}

'''Goodwin Jess "Goodie" Knight''' (December 9, 1896 – May 22, 1970) was an American politician and judge who served as the 31st [[governor of California]] from 1953 to 1959. A member of the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]], he previously served as the 35th [[lieutenant governor of California]] from 1947 to 1953 under Governor [[Earl Warren]].

Knight was born in Utah and moved to Los Angeles with his family when he was a child. He followed a career in law and politics, becoming a Superior Court judge before moving into politics. He was elected lieutenant governor of California in 1946, serving under Governor Earl Warren. Upon Warren's appointment as [[Chief Justice of the United States]] by President [[Dwight D. Eisenhower]], Knight assumed the governorship before being elected in his own right in [[1954 California gubernatorial election|1954]].<ref>{{cite magazine  | author=Staff writers | title=Milestones | magazine=Time | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878315,00.html | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930065050/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,878315,00.html | url-status=dead | archive-date=September 30, 2007 | date=1 June 1970 | access-date=5 December 2011}}</ref> His tenure as governor was marked by conflicts within his party. He chose not to run for a second full term as governor in [[1958 California gubernatorial election|1958]] and made an [[1958 United States Senate election in California|unsuccessful bid for the U.S. Senate]]. He attempted to make a return to the governorship in [[1962 California gubernatorial election|1962]], but withdrew from the race. 

Knight was married twice and had two daughters. He died in 1970, shortly after the suicide of his daughter. His funeral was attended by high-profile individuals including then-California Governor [[Ronald Reagan]] and U.S. Senator [[Barry Goldwater]].