DUANE
Duane's take
Here's the story as the official marker tells it — and friend, this one's worth every mile. Now, Texas has produced no shortage of men who wanted to leave their mark on the state. But every once in a while, one of them actually does it — in every branch of government, across six full decades, with barely a breath in between.
That man was Price Daniel, born in 1910 in Dayton, Texas, to M.P. and Nannie Partlow Daniel. He graduated from Baylor Law School, set up his law practice in Liberty, and by 1939 he was already in the Texas House of Representatives. That's a man who wasn't inclined to wait around.
And the House took notice — by 1943, they'd elected him Speaker. That's about as high as the House goes. Then came World War II.
Daniel stepped away from public life to serve, as so many did. But he came back. And when he came back, he came back swinging — as Attorney General of Texas, from 1947 to 1953.
Now here's where the story gets some real Texas grit to it. The federal government had its eye on Texas' tidelands — the submerged coastal lands that sat at the heart of some serious resource claims. Daniel fought that.
Vigorously, the marker says, and I believe it. He defended Texas' ownership against what the marker calls federal encroachment, and he wasn't done when his time as Attorney General ended. In 1952, he took that fight with him — straight to the United States Senate.
And he won it there too. He sponsored legislation that confirmed Texas' ownership of those tidelands. You don't let go of a thing like that until it's settled.
Then in 1956, Price Daniel was elected Governor of Texas. Reelected in 1958. Reelected again in 1960.
Three terms. And during those years, he championed something that doesn't always make the headlines but matters enormously — the preservation of historic state documents, and the construction of the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building right here in Austin. A man thinking about what comes after him.
But even after the governorship, Daniel wasn't finished. Not even close. Over the next three decades, he served as head of the Office of Emergency Preparedness under President Johnson.
He sat as an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court. He served on the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. Three branches of state government.
State and national stage. Six decades of public service. When Price Daniel died on August 25, 1988, the marker says something that's hard to just slide past: he had held more offices of public trust than any other individual in Texas history.
Any other individual. In Texas history. Now that's a legacy that doesn't need any embellishing from me.
What the marker says
Texas statesman Price Daniel (1910-1988) was born in Dayton, Texas, the son of M.P. and Nannie Partlow Daniel. His career in state and national politics spanned six decades and included service in all three branches of state government. After graduating from Baylor Law School, Price Daniel established his law practice in Liberty before taking his first public office in the Texas House of Representatives in 1939. His strong record led to his election as Speaker of the Texas House in 1943. Returning to public life after service in World War II, Daniel was Attorney General of Texas from 1947 until 1953. The young Attorney General vigorously defended Texas' ownership of its tidelands against federal encroachment, an issue he took with him to the United States Senate upon his election to that body in 1952. Successful in sponsoring legislation to confirm Texas ownership of the tidelands, Daniel was elected Governor of Texas in 1956 and was reelected in 1958 and 1960. Among his many accomplishments as Governor, he championed the preservation of historic state documents and construction of the Lorenzo de Zavala State Archives and Library Building in Austin. During the next three decades, Price Daniel served as head of the Office of Emergency Preparedness under President Johnson, as an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court and as a member of the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. At the time of his death on August 25, 1988, Daniel had held more offices of public trust than any other individual in Texas history. (2004)