Baldwin, Raymond Earl

(1893-1986)

   Born in Rye, New York, Raymond Baldwin moved to Middletown, Connecticut, as a child, and it was in that state he made his political career. After being educated at Wesleyan University and serving in the U.S. Navy during World War I, he graduated from Yale Law School in 1921. He established a law practice in Bridgeport and New Haven, Connecticut. A Republican, Baldwin served as town prosecutor (1927-1930) and judge (1931-1933) in Stratford, and also sat as a representative in the Connecticut General Assembly (1930-1935). In 1938, he was elected state governor and, although defeated in 1940, he was reelected again in 1942 and 1944. As governor Baldwin was responsible for a wave of reform, including labor reform, the introduction of workmen’s compensation, comprehensive pensions for state employees, and the creation of an Interracial Commission. In 1946, he was elected to the U.S. Senate but resigned in 1949 to become a justice on the Connecticut Supreme Court. He became chief justice of the court in 1959 and served until 1963.