40 Famous Iowans - Benjamin Gue

Gue emigrated to Iowa from Green County, New York when he was 24 years of age. Known for many things, Gue was a well-known newspaper and magazine editor in Fort Dodge and Des Moines, Iowa. In Fort Dodge, Gue was the editor and publisher for Iowa Northwest newspaper for nine years. While in Des Moines, he was the editor and publisher for The Homestead newspaper. Later, he wrote a four-volume series of the history of Iowa from the beginning of the state’s settlement and served as Iowa’s Lieutenant Governor from 1866-1868. He was a farmer, as well as a famous lecturer, and a supporter of the Iowa Agriculture College, later named Iowa State University.

Gue invested much time and energy with the Iowa Agriculture College by signing bills, actively supporting and serving as the college’s President of the Board of Trustees for a period of time. Gue devoted much of his attention to gathering material to create a vivid history of Iowa.

Benjamin Gue was considered one of the most prominent men of the state government. He was one of Iowa’s best and brightest journalists and also proved himself to have great executive ability. Thanks to the writings that Benjamin Gue published of different periods in Iowa’s past, we have a vast resource of historical documentation.