Former Republican Governor Warren Purley Knowles III was born in River Falls, Wisconsin on August 19, 1908. After attending local schools he graduated from Carleton College in 1930 and from the law school of the University of Wisconsin in 1933. Knowles then settled in New Richmond where he joined his father, County Judge Warren P. Knowles, in the law partnership Doar & Knowles.
In 1935 Knowles launched his political career by successfully running for the St. Croix County Board on which he served four years. In 1940 Knowles was elected to the state Senate from the Tenth District. Even during his first term he attracted public attention because of his intelligence, humor, and good looks, and he quickly rose to a position of prominence. In 1942 Knowles volunteered for duty in the Navy but was given leave to return to Wisconsin for the 1943 legislative session. During this session his fellow Republicans elected him Senate majority floor leader. Because of his mastery of parliamentary procedure and his other legislative skills Knowles continued to hold this top leadership position throughout his career in the Senate. In May 1943 Knowles reported for active duty on the USS Nevada and participated in the invasions of Attu, Normandy, and southern France.
While on active duty in November 1944, Knowles was reelected to the Senate in an absentee campaign managed by his law partner Tom Doar. In January 1945 the Navy again gave him leave so that he might return to Wisconsin to serve in the Legislature.
During the late 1940s and early 1950s Knowles emerged as a leader in the efforts to make state government more efficient and more responsive to contemporary needs. Knowles was the author of legislation to establish a permanent research department to study complex governmental issues for the Legislature, and after its passage he served as the first chairman of the Legislative Council. In 1949 he authored a bill creating the State Building Commission and as a member helped to launch a longterm building program for the state. Knowles was also a strong backer of the Wisconsin Turnpike Commission and the Aeronautic Commission. From 1952 to 1954 he was a member of the Judicial Council.
In 1950 Knowles was a key figure in the group of younger, more moderate Republicans who successfully put Walter Kohler Jr., forward as a gubernatorial candidate. Knowles, however, declined suggestions that he himself run for higher elective office, giving as a reason the demands of his successful law practice. In 1954, however, he received the Republican endorsement to run against Lieutenant Governor George Smith, a party outsider. Although his campaign was a political longshot, Knowles was overwhelmingly victorious in the primary and then in the general election. In 1956 Knowles chose not to run against Attorney General Vernon Thomson for the gubernatorial nomination, but to seek reelection as lieutenant governor instead.
In 1957 Knowles' political prospects began to look less promising. In the primary to fill the seat of Senator Joseph R. McCarthy, Knowles ran fourth in a field of seven Republicans. Then in 1958 Knowles was narrowly defeated in his bid for a third term as lieutenant governor by Democrat Philleo Nash.
However, in 1960 Knowles rebounded, defeating Nash to serve as lieutenant governor in the administration of Democrat Gaylord Nelson. During the 1961 legislative session Knowles positioned himself as one of the chief critics of the administration on the issue of taxation, and in 1962 he made a bid for the gubernatorial nomination. In a contest largely decided along regional and population lines, however, Knowles was defeated at the party convention by Milwaukeean Philip Kuehn.
After the 1962 convention Knowles announced his retirement from public life and returned to his law practice in New Richmond, but his retirement was brief. In 1964 he made a second bid for the gubernatorial nomination, this time going on to narrowly defeat the incumbent governor, Democrat John Reynolds. Knowles' victory was particularly notable for it came in the face of many Republican losses around the country as a result of the Goldwater presidential ticket.
Knowles was a popular governor, and he was reelected to office overwhelmingly in 1966 and 1970. Unlike his more conservative Republican predecessors, Knowles and state Party Chairman Ody J. Fish, with whom he was closely allied, sought a more pragmatic position for Wisconsin Republicans. Thus, Knowles backed strong legislation in the areas of water pollution and highway safety, and although he originally campaigned for office on a platform of fiscal restraint, state budgets increased substantially during his administration.
In a more typical area of Republican priority Knowles also sought an aggressive position for state government with regard to economic development. Coinciding with a period of rapid national economic expansion, his program for business development witnessed many successes.
To attack a number of the problems that beset state government Knowles appointed numerous citizen/expert task forces to study the issues and recommend solutions. Among the best known of these efforts were the Wisconsin Committee on Improved Expenditure Management; the Kellett Committee on Reorganization, which ultimately brought about a massive reorganization of state government; and the Tarr Task Force on Local Government Organization and Finance.
The Knowles leadership style was one of friendly persuasion rather than coercion and despite his personal popularity and the passage of some truly significant legislation, he was sometimes criticized for his weak legislative leadership.
After leaving public office Knowles became chairman of the board of Inland Financial Corporation in Milwaukee. Throughout his life Knowles has been involved with many civic and fraternal groups. Most notable of these were his tenure (1952-1953) as president of the Wisconsin Alumni Association and his appointment to the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin in 1985. He was also a lifelong sportsman and has been prominently identified with conservation and recreational groups.
Knowles was married to Dorothy Guidry in 1943; they were divorced in 1968.
