Stanley K. Hathaway, former two-term Governor of Wyoming, was sworn into office today as the 40th Secretary of the Interior.
Hathaway, 50, was confirmed by the United States Senate as Secretary of the Interior June 11, 1975.
Hathaway was born in Osceola, Nebraska, July 19, 1924, and moved with his family in 1928 to Goshen County, Wyoming. The family homesteaded near Huntley, Wyoming, and he graduated from Huntley High School in 1941.
He attended the University of Wyoming until 1943, when he joined the Army Air Force. During World War. II, he was a radio operator on a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber with the Eighth Air Force. His crew participated in 35 combat missions and he survived two crash landings. He received the French Croix de Guerre, Presidential Unit Citations, and five Air Medals.
Following the war, Hathaway entered the University of Nebraska, where he earned Bachelor of Arts and Law degrees. He met his future wife, Roberta Harley of Sioux City, Iowa, while attending law school. They were married in 1948 and have two daughters, Susan 22 and Sandra 20.
After graduation from law school, the Hathaways moved to Torrington, Wyoming, where he established a law practice. He was elected Goshen County Attorney twice, in 1954 and again in 1958.
In 1966, Hathaway was elected Governor of Wyoming. He was re-elected to a second term in 1970.
During his two terms in office, Governor Hathaway served as Chairman of the Western Governors' Conference, Chairman of the Federation of Rocky Mountain States, and Chairman of the National Governors' Conference Committee on Natural Resources and Environmental Management. He was also a member of the Executive Committee of the National Governors' Conference.
