Ernest William McFarland (October 9, 1894 – June 8, 1984) was an American politician, jurist and, with Warren Atherton, one of the "Fathers of the G.I. Bill." He served in all three branches of government, two at the state level, one at the federal level. He was a Democratic U.S. senator from Arizona from 1941 to 1953 (Majority Leader from 1951 to 1953) before he was the tenth governor of Arizona from 1955 to 1959. Finally, McFarland sat as chief justice on the Arizona Supreme Court in 1968. Early life McFarland was born to William Thomas and Keziah (Smith) McFarland on October 9, 1894, in a log cabin on his family's farm in Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma, near Earlsboro. When he was eight, his family moved to Okemah for a year before it returned to Earlsboro. That had the effect of delaying McFarland's education for a year as Okemah then had no schools. As a result, he graduated from Earlsburg High School in 1914. After high school. McFarland enrolled at East Central State Normal School in Ada, Oklahoma. He completed the required work for a temporary teaching certificate after one quarter. In late 1914 and early 1915, McFarland taught in a one-room school in Schoolton, Oklahoma, to raise funds for his education. He then returned to East Central and taught mathematics at Ada High School to pay for his education. Meanwhile, he was active in his school's debating societies and began a friendship with Robert S. Kerr, who was a member of the same debate club. In mid-1915, McFarland completed his studies at East Central and left the school with a lifetime teaching certificate. After East Central, McFarland enrolled at the University of Oklahoma. Working various part-time jobs, he initially studied mathematics with the intention of having a career in education. After a year he changed majors to pre-law. Studying at an accelerated rate, McFarland graduated with a bachelor's degree on June 5, 1917. Following his graduation, McFarland joined the US Navy soon after the US entered World War I, McFarland enlisted in the U.S. Navy. He entered the military on December 11, 1917, as a seaman second class and was assigned to the Great Lakes Naval Training Station. The climate on the shore of Lake Michigan did not agree with him, and he was admitted to a naval hospital on March 3, 1918, as suffering from pneumonia. McFarland spent the