Julius Caldeen Gunter

Who was Julius Caldeen Gunter?

Julius Caldeen Gunter was the 21st Governor of Colorado from January 9, 1917 until his term ended on January 14, 1919.

He was born in Fayetteville, Arkansas, and earned a LL.D Degree when he graduated from the University of Virginia in 1879. His first major political job was being elected to the Colorado Supreme Court which he served on between 1905–1907. In 1916, he entered the Colorado gubernatorial election, and was elected on November 7. The same year he entered office, the United States entered World War I. Gunter helped organize the Colorado Home Guard, the Colorado Wartime Council, and the Council of Defense which were to aid the troops. He was also the first Governor to implement the use of the National Guard. His term ended the same year the war ended. He declined to run for a second term in 1919. He later declined offers to return to the Colorado Supreme Court. He died in his home in Denver, Colorado on October 26, 1940, just shy of his 82nd birthday, and was buried in Fairmount Cemetery, Denver.