Senator Milward Lee Simpson

Milward Lee Simpson (November 12, 1897 – June 11, 1993) was an American politician who served as a United States Senator from Wyoming and as the 23rd Governor of Wyoming, and was the first governor of the state to have been born there. A lifelong Republican, he played a notable role in Wyoming and national politics during the mid-twentieth century and was later recognized for his contributions to the American West with induction into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1985.

Simpson was born in Jackson, Teton County, Wyoming, the son of Margaret Louise (née Burnett; 1874–1974) and William Lee “Billy” Simpson (1868–1940). He spent his childhood in northwestern Wyoming and attended public schools in Meeteetse and Cody, reflecting his family’s deep roots in the region. He graduated from Cody High School in 1916. Seeking further preparatory education, Simpson enrolled at the Tome School for Boys in Port Deposit, Maryland, from which he graduated in June 1917 at the age of nineteen. Among a class of fifteen graduates, he was recognized as the Best All-Round Athlete for his achievements in football, basketball, and baseball. The commencement exercises at which he received this honor were notable for featuring Franklin D. Roosevelt, then Assistant Secretary of the Navy, as the commencement speaker.

With the United States’ entry into World War I, Simpson entered military service. He served in the United States Army as a second lieutenant in the infantry, gaining early leadership experience in a national context. His wartime service helped shape his sense of public duty and responsibility, which would later inform his long career in Wyoming public life and national politics.

Following his military service, Simpson pursued higher education and legal training, preparing for a career in law and public affairs. He eventually entered Wyoming politics and rose through the ranks of state public service. His prominence in state affairs culminated in his election as the 23rd Governor of Wyoming, a milestone that underscored both his personal political success and the maturation of Wyoming-born leadership in the state. As governor, he was recognized as the first person born in Wyoming to hold that office, symbolizing a generational shift from frontier-era leadership to native-born governance.

Simpson’s state-level leadership and growing reputation as a Republican policymaker led to his election to the United States Senate. He served as a Senator from Wyoming in the United States Congress from 1961 to 1967, completing one full term in office. His tenure in the Senate coincided with a significant period in American history marked by the Cold War, the civil rights movement, and major debates over domestic and foreign policy. As a member of the Republican Party, Milward Lee Simpson contributed to the legislative process, participated in the democratic deliberations of the Senate, and represented the interests of his Wyoming constituents on issues affecting the West, natural resources, and national policy.

After leaving the Senate in 1967, Simpson remained an influential figure in Wyoming and Republican circles, drawing on his combined experience as governor and U.S. senator. His long life allowed him to witness and reflect upon dramatic changes in both his home state and the nation over nearly a century. In recognition of his lifelong association with the American West and his contributions to its political and civic development, he was inducted in 1985 into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum.

Milward Lee Simpson died on June 11, 1993, closing a life that spanned from the closing of the American frontier through the late twentieth century. His career as a soldier, attorney, governor, and United States senator left a lasting imprint on Wyoming’s political history and on the broader story of public service in the American West.