Ross S. Sterling

Ross Shaw Sterling (1875 to 1949) was an American businessman and politician who co-founded the Humble Oil Company and served as the 31st governor of Texas from 1931 to 1933. Born in Anahuac in Chambers County near Houston, he grew up on a farm, had little formal education and began work as a clerk at twelve. In 1911 he, his brother Frank Sterling and other oilmen formed the Humble Oil Company, a predecessor of present-day ExxonMobil, joined by their sister Florence, and the three siblings were known as the Trio. Humble's own history lists him as its first president from 1917 to 1922 and chairman of its board from 1922 to 1925. Beyond oil he was involved in a railroad company, the Houston Post newspaper, banking and Houston real estate, sat on the Houston Port Commission and chaired the Texas Highway Commission. As governor he faced the uncontrolled development of the East Texas oil fields and declared martial law in four counties for six months, an action later declared unwarranted by the courts. He lost the 1932 Democratic primary run-off to Miriam Ferguson by 50.2 percent to 49.8 percent, the closest primary defeat of an incumbent governor in United States history.