View source for Ross S. Sterling

{{Short description|Governor of Texas from 1931 to 1933}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|image        = Ross Sterling.png
|order        = 31st
|office       = Governor of Texas
|term_start   = January 20, 1931
|term_end     = January 17, 1933
|lieutenant   = [[Edgar E. Witt]]
|predecessor  = [[Dan Moody]]
|successor    = [[Miriam A. Ferguson]]
|birth_name   = Ross Shaw Sterling
|birth_date   = {{birth date|1875|02|11}}
|birth_place  = [[Anahuac, Texas]], U.S.
|death_date   = {{death date and age|1949|03|25|1875|02|11}}
|death_place  = [[Fort Worth, Texas]], U.S.
|restingplace = [[Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas)|Glenwood Cemetery]]
|party        = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]]
|spouse       = {{marriage|Maud Abbie Gage|1898}}
|profession   =
|religion     =
}}
'''Ross Shaw Sterling''' (February 11, 1875{{spaced ndash}}March 25, 1949) was an American politician who served as the [[List of Governors of Texas|31st governor of Texas]] from 1931 to 1933.[[File:Houston Publishing Co.jpg|thumb|A 1926 magazine cover depicts the proposed 40-story Sterling Hotel in Houston, designed by Ross Sterling's son-in-law, architect Wyatt Hedrick; the hotel was never built.<ref>{{cite web|title=Designs for the 'Sterling Hotel' in Houston|url=https://thebakerhotel.wordpress.com/2013/08/01/designs-for-the-sterling-hotel-in-houston/|website=The Grand Old Lady|date=August 2013|access-date=30 November 2015}}</ref>]]

==Early years==
Sterling was born in [[Anahuac, Texas|Anahuac]] in [[Chambers County, Texas|Chambers County]] near [[Houston, Texas]]. He grew up on a farm and, after little formal education, began working as a clerk at the age of 12.<ref name="Handbook">{{cite web|title=Ross Shaw Sterling|url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fst42|work=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas STate Historical Association|access-date=28 February 2012}}</ref>

==Career==
At the age of 21, Sterling launched his own merchandising business. In 1911, his brother [[Frank Sterling]], other oilmen, and he formed the [[Humble Oil|Humble Oil Company]], a predecessor of present-day [[Exxon-Mobil]].<ref name="Handbook"/> They were joined in the venture by their sister, [[Florence M. Sterling]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fstbq|title=Sterling, Florence M.|last=McArthur|first=Judith N.|date=15 June 2010|website=Handbook of Texas Online|publisher=Texas State Historical Association|access-date=14 April 2016}}</ref> Sterling and his brother Frank and his sister, Florence, were referred to as the "Trio".<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|date=January 1920|title=From Anahuac to Millions|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OUQ6AQAAMAAJ&q=%22florence+m+sterling%22&pg=RA7-PA61|journal=Petroleum Age|volume=7|issue=10|page=61|access-date=14 April 2016}}</ref>

In addition to the [[oil industry]], Sterling was involved in a railroad company, the former ''[[Houston Post]]'' newspaper,  banking, and [[real estate]] in the Houston area. He was a member of the Houston Port Commission. He served as chairman of the [[Texas Transportation Commission|Texas Highway Commission]] under his predecessor, Governor [[Dan Moody]].<ref name=wtha>"Jessie Ziegler and Governor Ross Sterling," [[East Texas Historical Association]] and [[West Texas Historical Association]], annual meeting in [[Fort worth, Texas]], February 26, 2010</ref>

==Public service==
A [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] who has been described by one observer as “a successful business man and a devotee of laissez-faire,”<ref>The Chief Executive In Texas A Study in Gubernatorial Leadership By Fred Gantt, Jr., 2014, P.304</ref> Sterling defeated former Governor [[Miriam Ferguson|Miriam "Ma" Ferguson]] and several other candidates in the 1930 primary race for governor.  During Sterling's term in office, the East Texas oil fields experienced rapid and uncontrolled development.{{citation needed|date=June 2025}}  The [[Railroad Commission of Texas]] attempted proration{{what?|date=June 2025}}, but the courts struck down the plan. Because of the chaotic situation, Sterling declared [[martial law]] in four counties for six months. [[United States National Guard|National Guard]] troops were sent to the oil fields to limit waste and control production. This action was later declared unwarranted by the federal district court<ref>{{cite court|url=https://www.courtlistener.com/opinion/1569713/constantin-v-smith/|litigants=Constantin v. Smith|court=E.D. Tex.|date=1932|vol=57|reporter=F.2d|opinion=227}}</ref> and the [[U.S. Supreme Court]],<ref>{{cite court|vol=287|reporter=U.S.|opinion=378|litigants=Sterling v. Constantin|date=1932|url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=18377165662331773565}}</ref> and the Railroad Commission's plan for proration was accepted. Cotton prices continued to decline during Sterling's term in office.<ref name=wtha/>

Sterling's loss in the 1932 Democratic primary is the closest primary defeat for an incumbent governor in United States history. He lost to Miriam Ferguson in the run-off election by a margin of 50.2% to 49.8% with less than 4,000 votes separating the candidates. <ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.centerforpolitics.org/crystalball/articles/a-failure-to-launch-kansas-republican-gubernatorial-contest-and-the-history-of-incumbent-governor-primary-performance/|title = A Failure to Launch? Kansas' Republican Gubernatorial Contest and the History of Incumbent Governor Primary Performance – Sabato's Crystal Ball| date=9 August 2018 }}</ref>

==Personal life and death==
[[File:Texas Governor Ross Sterling Mansion.jpg|thumb|This mansion of Governor Sterling's at Morgan's point, a scaled down version of the White House, was completed in 1927]]
[[File:Birthplace of Governor Ross Shaw Sterling.jpg|thumb|Birthplace of Governor Sterling]]
[[Image:RossSterlingMansion.JPG|thumb|left|180px|Ross Sterling's mansion in the [[Montrose, Houston|Montrose]] area of Houston was built in 1916.]]
He wed Maud Abbie Gage on October 10, 1898.<ref name="Handbook"/>

Sterling died in Fort Worth on March 25, 1949, and is buried at [[Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas)|Glenwood Cemetery]] in Houston.<ref>{{cite book|title=Ross Sterling, Texan: A Memoir by the Founder of Humble Oil and Refining Company|date=2010|publisher=University of Texas Press|isbn=9780292773479|page=236}}</ref>

Three Texas schools are named after him, [[Sterling High School (Baytown, Texas)|Sterling High School]] in [[Baytown, Texas|Baytown]], [[Sterling High School (Houston)|Sterling High School]] in [[Houston, Texas|Houston]], and [[Ross Sterling Middle School]] in [[Humble, Texas]]. In addition, his grand-nephew, [[Ross N. Sterling]], a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], became a [[United States federal judge]] in Texas under appointment of [[U.S. President]] [[Gerald R. Ford Jr.]]<ref name=RJM>Steven Harmon Wilson, ''The Rise of Judicial Management in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of Texas'' (2002), p. 241-242.</ref>

In 1925, Sterling's daughter Mildred married the prominent architect [[Wyatt C. Hedrick]] of Fort Worth.

Sterling's former house, built about 1910, was moved in 1999 from 106 [[Westheimer Road]] to the intersection of Bagby and Rosalie to undergo restoration.<ref>"[http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl?id=1999_3128940 A monumental task]." ''[[Houston Chronicle]]''. April 3, 1999. A25 MetFront. Retrieved on November 15, 2009.</ref>  
In 2015 it opened as a bar & restaurant called Sterling House <ref>"[https://www.chron.com/entertainment/restaurants-bars/article/Historic-Sterling-midtown-bar-restaurant-7522817.php Historic Sterling house, built in 1905, converted into midtown bar and restaurant]."</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book |title=Ross Sterling, Texan: A Memoir by the Founder of Humble Oil and Refining Company |author1=Sterling, Ross S. |author2=Kilman, Ed |year=2007 |publisher=Univ. of Texas Press |location=Austin |isbn=978-0-292-71442-7 }}

==External links==
* {{Handbook of Texas|id=fst42|name=Ross Shaw Sterling}}
* http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/tslac/40032/tsl-40032.html

{{s-start}}
{{s-ppo}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Dan Moody]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] nominee for [[Governor of Texas]]|years=[[1930 Texas gubernatorial election|1930]]}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Miriam A. Ferguson]]}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
| title=[[List of Governors of Texas|Governor of Texas]]
| before=[[Dan Moody]]
| after=[[Miriam A. Ferguson]]
| years=January 20, 1931 – January 17, 1933
}}
{{s-end}}

{{Governors of Texas}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sterling, Ross S.}}
[[Category:Democratic Party governors of Texas]]
[[Category:American businesspeople in the oil industry]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Texas]]
[[Category:Texas Oil Boom people]]
[[Category:ExxonMobil people]]
[[Category:1875 births]]
[[Category:1949 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Glenwood Cemetery (Houston, Texas)]]
[[Category:Politicians from Houston]]
[[Category:People from Anahuac, Texas]]