Governor William T. Cahill

WILLIAM T. CAHILL was born in Philadelphia on June 25, 1912. He received a bachelor of arts degree from St. Joseph’s College in 1933 and an LL.B. from Rutgers Law School in 1937. He served as a special agent for the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Camden, New Jersey; city prosecutor (1941), first assistant prosecutor, Camden County (1948-1951), deputy attorney general of New Jersey (1951), member of New Jersey Legislature (1951-1953), and member of U.S. House of Representatives (1959-1969). He was elected Governor of New Jersey in November 1969 and served one term. He was considered a pioneer of tax reform and helped create the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority. His interest in environmental issues led to the creation of the Department of Environmental Protection and the passage of the Coastal Area Facility Review Act (CAFRA), setting a precedent of protecting the state’s wetlands and coastal areas. Governor Cahill oversaw the implementation of the New Jersey Lottery, which was the nation’s first daily statewide lottery. He was a member of the National Governor’s Conference Executive Committee from 1970-1971 and from 1972-1973), and he chaired the Mid-Atlantic Governors’ Conference from 1972 to 1973. He passed away on July 1, 1996.