William C. Marland

William C. Marland (b. March 26, 1918, d. November 26, 1965), a democrat, was governor of West Virginia from 1953 to 1957. He is best known for being employed as a taxi driver in Chicago, Illinois after his term.

He was born in Johnson City, Illinois on March 26, 1918. His parents moved to a tiny coal mining community in Wyoming County, West Virginia when he was seven.

He became a member of the democratic "machine" that controlled the state's politics and was slated by it for high office. After a term as state Attorney General he was selected to run for governor in the 1952 election.

His term as governor was marked by investigations into the corruption of the "machine", as the United States Attorney, appointed by President Dwight Eisenhower was in Republican hands for the first time since 1932. His proposal to borrow money for a large highway building effort was rejected in a statewide referendum by a large margin, primarily because it was the widespread belief of most voters that the state government was corrupt and little of the money would actually find its way to highway building. He also began to propose his own agenda, which was sometimes at odds with the "machine's" agreed views.

The pressure of the office and the investigations exacerbated his lifelong alcoholism and led to "lost weekends". Eventually the State Police, who had previously not provided a guard for the governor, began to accompany him, more to prevent his binges than to provide actual protection.

At the time, the state had a one-term term limit and he was succeeded by Cecil H. Underwood, the first Republican to hold the office in a generation. Underwood's first action was to fire every state employee, and encourage a further investigation into the "machine's" actions.

Marland coveted a slating as a candidate for the United States Senate but his failure to follow the "machine's" wishes in all things caused this to be denied him. He took a job with a bank in Chicago, and left the state in 1957. His alcohol problems became more severe and he was committed to an institution and fell from public view.

In 1963 he was recognized by a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times working as a taxi driver. This was turned into a wire service story and received with great interest in West Virginia and elsewhere. Marland claimed that he was working in the position as a kind of therapy, calling it "good honest work", but others believed that he simply needed the money.

He died of alcohol-related illnesses on November 26, 1965.