Carl E. Milliken

Who was Carl E. Milliken?

Carl Elias Milliken was a U.S. Republican and Progressive Party politician, 51st governor of Maine. He was also a notable early figure in the motion picture industry.

A native of Pittsfield, Maine, Milliken graduated from Bates College in 1897. He went on to receive his masters degree from Harvard University in 1899, before moving to Island Falls, Maine to enter the lumber business. During the next six years, Milliken held positions as general manager of two lumber companies and an axe manufacturer and as president of a local telephone company.

His political career began in 1905, when he was elected to the Maine House of Representatives. Milliken moved up to the Maine State Senate in 1909, and was president of that body from 1913 to 1915.

Running for governor of Maine as a Republican Party candidate in 1916, Milliken easily defeated the Democratic Party incumbent, Oakley C. Curtis. He was reelected in 1918, this time by a smaller margin over Bertrand McIntire. Milliken was the first governor to be nominated by direct primary. As governor, he strictly enforced state and federal alcohol prohibition laws, which he strongly supported.

Milliken left office on January 5, 1921.