Editing Lloyd C. Stark (section)

==Biography==
Stark was born in [[Louisiana, Missouri]], the son of Clarence McDowell and Lillie Crow Stark. Stark was a 1908 graduate of the [[United States Naval Academy]].<ref>{{Cite web |year=2009|url=http://www.usna.edu/Admissions/Notables/Governors/index.htm |title=State Governors|publisher=United States Naval Academy |access-date=February 8, 2009}}</ref> After serving four years as a naval officer, Stark went into the family business, the [[Stark Brothers Nurseries and Orchards|Stark Brothers' Nursery]], as vice-president and general manager. He was a major in the [[US Army]] during [[World War I]]. During his volunteer stint, Stark served in the United States and [[France]], including the 1918 [[Meuse-Argonne Offensive]].<ref name=Papers>{{cite web|title=C0004 Stark Lloyd Crow (1886-1972), Papers, 1931-1941|url=http://shs.umsystem.edu/manuscripts/invent/0004.pdf|publisher=The State Historical Society of Missouri|access-date=November 22, 2013}}</ref>

Stark's political career began in 1928, when he chaired Missouri's State Highway Bond Campaign. He served one term as the governor of Missouri from 1937 to 1941 and was a delegate to [[Democratic National Convention]] from Missouri in 1940. During his gubernatorial term, Stark's administration established the [[Ellis Fischel Cancer Center]], abolished interstate trade barriers, passed a police reorganization bill, and established a merit system for selection of state employees.<ref name=Papers />

Lloyd Stark had a fierce political rivalry with [[Harry S. Truman]] against whom he ran for the Senate in 1940 and lost when he and the prosecutor [[Maurice M. Milligan]], who had toppled the Kansas City political machine, split the anti-Pendergast vote in the Democratic primary.

Although the loss to Truman heralded the end of his political career, Stark spent the remainder of his working life managing the Stark Brothers Nurseries. Meanwhile, Stark influenced the political careers of [[Clarence Cannon]] and [[Stuart Symington]].<ref name=Papers /> Stark died in [[Clayton, Missouri]] in 1972.

The falling out between Stark and the Kansas City boss [[Tom Pendergast]] following the 1936 election is widely believed to have been the turning point in Pendergast's fall from power. Pendergast had held so much sway in Missouri in the 1930s that the governor's mansion was dubbed "Uncle Tom's Cabin."<ref>{{cite web |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration Form: Thomas J. Pendergast Headquarters |url=https://dnr.mo.gov/shpo/nps-nr/11000764.pdf |website=Missouri Department of Natural Resources |access-date=10 November 2020 |page=16 of Section 8}}</ref>

Stark sought and received Pendergast's support. Pendergast's minions were more corrupt and obvious than usual during the 1936 election. That prompted numerous investigations, and Stark turned overtly against Pendergast, who was eventually convicted of income tax evasion.<ref>{{cite book|last=Folsom, Jr.|first=Burton|title=New Deal or Raw Deal?|year=2008|publisher=Threshold Editions/Simon and Schuster|location=New York, NY|isbn=978-1-4165-9237-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/newdealorrawdeal0000fols/page/158 158–159]|url=https://archive.org/details/newdealorrawdeal0000fols/page/158}}</ref>

Stark served as Governor for six weeks beyond his normal term as a result of the controversial [[1940 Missouri gubernatorial election]], also called the "Great Governorship Steal", in which Pendergast-aligned Democrats attempted to overturn a narrow victory by Republican [[Forrest C. Donnell]]. Stark opposed these efforts and vetoed resolutions from the [[Missouri General Assembly]] that attempted to recount the election in a manner favorable to Democrats.<ref>{{cite news |date=1941-01-16|title=VETOES PLAN TO BAR DONNELL IN MISSOURI: Gov. Stark Rebukes Stunned Legislators for Partisanship|url=https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1941/01/16/85185777.html?pageNumber=15|work=[[The New York Times]]|location=New York, NY|access-date=2020-08-25}}</ref> The controversy was ultimately resolved by the [[Missouri Supreme Court]] in favor of Donnell, who was inaugurated six weeks late on February 26, 1941.<ref name="q452">{{cite web | title=Forrest C. Donnell (1884–1980) | website=Missouri Encyclopedia | date=1942-04-12 | url=https://missouriencyclopedia.org/people/donnell-forrest-c | access-date=2024-12-28}}</ref>