Department of Finance Directors

Phil Gibson was appointed Director of Finance by Governor Culbert Olson on January 2, 1939. He was born in Grant City, Missouri in 1888 and attended the University of Missouri, graduating with his A.B. and LL.B. degrees in 1914. He served in World War I and later studied at the Inns of Court in England before returning to the United States. He passed the California bar in 1923 and practiced law. Gibson also taught at the Southwestern University School of Law. Shortly after joining Finance, Gibson was appointed as an Associate Justice of the California Supreme Court, and later went on to serve as Chief Justice from 1940 until 1964.