Simon Bamberger

Simon Bamberger (1846-1926) was the fourth governor of Utah. He handled the implementation of many significant policies and social reforms including creating a Public Utilities Commission and a Department of Health, passing a Workmen’s Compensation Act, and signing a statewide prohibition bill. Bamberger was also Utah’s first Democratic and first Jewish governor.

Bamberger was born in 1846 in Darmstadt, Germany. At age fourteen, he emigrated to the United States working in numerous cities before traveling west and settling in Utah. Bamberger became involved with the mining and railroad industries and in 1896, opened Lagoon-an amusement park in Farmington, Utah-as a stop on his railway between Ogden and Salt Lake City.”

At the turn of the century, Bamberger served on the Salt Lake City Board of Education and was elected to the Utah State Senate. He became well-known for his humor, wit, and progressive ideas. After his unsuccessful reelection to the Senate. Bamberger ran for the seat of Utah governor. Bamberger’s promise to sign a prohibition bill gained him favor and helped him win the election. Faced with a large budget deficit when he took office, Bamberger called for more efficient spending and increase of revenue. By the time he left office in 1921-declining to run for a second term-the State’s budget deficit of nearly half of one million dollars had been eliminated.

The Sculptor
Torleif Knaphus (1881-1965) was a well-known artist and sculptor in Utah and within the community of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Born in Norway, Knaphus studied in Oslo, Paris, Chicago and New York. He settled in Utah and worked as an artist and teacher. Knaphus’s notable monuments and sculptures can be seen throughout the country.