On Dec. 27, 1881, Michigan’s 16th Governor, John J. Bagley, died four years after leaving the Governor’s office at just 49 years old.The former Republican Governor is a New York native who came to Michigan as a boy. Bagley attended the public schools in New York and Michigan. In his professional life, Bagley worked in the tobacco industry in Detroit — at the time a major industry — and made his fortune establishing the Mayflower Tobacco Company.As Governor, Bagley signed into law a tax on liquor and was a supporter of prohibition. Also under Bagley’s leadership, the state fish commission was created as was an authority for improving the state’s railroads. The state’s militia also was restructured into the Michigan National Guard.
Source : National Governors Association