Robert Hayes Gore (May 24, 1886 – December 26, 1972) was an American politician and successful newspaper publisher who was appointed as the governor of Puerto Rico, serving from July 1933 to January 1934.
While the editor-publisher of the Terre Haute Post, Gore conceived the idea of "giving away" $1,000 travel life insurance policies with new newspaper subscriptions.
Within a year, he was worth just over a hundred million dollars (2.6 billion in 2015), later establishing another publishing house in Terre Haute and an insurance agency in Chicago to handle the business.
During his inaugural speech as governor, on July 1, 1933, Gore outlined his platform for the protectorate in three major elements: eventual statehood, opposition to birth control (there had been considerable controversy over this issue during the term of his predecessor, Governor James Rumsey Beverley[1]) and legalizing cockfighting, which Gore believed would benefit tourism.
Rather than suggesting birth control to the predominantly Catholic residents, Gore advocated a plan to relocate Puerto Ricans to Florida to relieve overcrowding on the island.