# Lyndon A. Smith *Republican politician and educator who served as Minnesota's 14th attorney general and 15th lieutenant governor* Lyndon Ambrose Smith (July 15, 1854 – March 5, 1918) was a Republican officeholder in [[Minnesota]]. Trained as an educator and a lawyer, he was the state's 15th lieutenant governor and later its 14th attorney general.[^1] A native of New Hampshire, Smith moved to Montevideo in 1885. His elected career began with the Chippewa County attorney's office in 1889. He won the lieutenant governorship in 1899 and a second term in 1901. He then won the attorney general's office three consecutive times, in 1912, 1914 and 1916, and died while still serving on March 5, 1918.[^2] ## Life and career Smith was born in 1854 in Boscawen, New Hampshire.[^2] His father, Ambrose Smith, was a Congregational clergyman. His mother, Cynthia Maria Egerton, descended from William Bradford, the *Mayflower* passenger who governed Plymouth Colony.[^2] While a student at Dartmouth College, Smith was superintendent of schools for Norwich, Vermont, and he finished as valedictorian in 1880.[^2] He afterward worked with the National Commissioner of Education and headed the educational department of the World Cotton Centennial. He also took a law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.[^2] Smith settled in Montevideo, Minnesota, in 1885 and opened a law office there.[^2] The following year he married Dora Rogers, a teacher who had come from Maine. Their daughter, Charlotte, was born in 1888.[^2] In 1889 Smith won election as [[county attorney]] of [[Chippewa County, Minnesota]], and he left that office after a single term.[^2] He was elected [[Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota]] in 1899, serving with Governor [[John Lind (politician)]]. In 1901 he won a second term alongside Lind's successor, Samuel Van Sant.[^2] From 1903 to 1909 he again held the Chippewa County attorney's post, which he left on his appointment as an assistant state attorney general.[^2] He then stood as the Republican candidate for [[Attorney General of Minnesota]], winning the office in 1912 and keeping it in the 1914 and 1916 elections.[^2] Smith was still attorney general when he died on March 5, 1918. He was buried at Orchard Grove Cemetery in Kittery, Maine.[^2] ## Electoral history In the 1912 Republican primary for attorney general, Smith received 84,816 votes to Thomas Fraser's 56,137.[^3] In the 1912 general election he received 166,950 votes. Democrat William F. Donohue received 83,997 and Prohibition candidate J. H. Morse received 27,140.[^3] In the 1914 Republican primary he received 104,653 votes to James Manahan's 76,110.[^3] In the 1914 general election he received 195,372 votes. Democrat Neil M. Cronin received 94,025 and Progressive candidate August V. Rieke received 16,736.[^3] In the 1916 general election he was returned without opposition, receiving 263,285 votes.[^3] ## Notes [^1]: Wikipedia, *Lyndon A. Smith* (revision 1357817038, retrieved 2026-10-25; CC BY-SA 4.0) — lead section: dates of birth and death, party, and the offices of 15th lieutenant governor and 14th attorney general. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_A._Smith [^2]: Wikipedia, *Lyndon A. Smith* (revision 1357817038, retrieved 2026-10-25; CC BY-SA 4.0) — "Life and career" section: birth, family, education, move to Montevideo, marriage, county attorney, lieutenant governor and attorney general terms, death and burial. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_A._Smith [^3]: Wikipedia, *Lyndon A. Smith* (revision 1357817038, retrieved 2026-10-25; CC BY-SA 4.0) — "Electoral history" section: 1912, 1914 and 1916 primary and general election returns for attorney general. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lyndon_A._Smith