Austin Augustus King

Austin Augustus King (born September 21, 1802 in Sullivan County , Tennessee , † April 22, 1870 in St. Louis , Missouri ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) and from 1848 to 1853 the tenth governor of Missouri. He also represented this state in the US House of Representatives .

Early years and political advancement

Austin King attended public schools in his home in Tennessee. After studying law, he was admitted to the bar in 1822. He then worked in this profession, first in Jackson and then after a move in 1830 to Columbia (Missouri). During the Black Hawk War , King was a colonel in the army.

King was a member of the Missouri House of Representatives in 1834 and 1836 . Between 1837 and 1848 he was a judge in the fifth judicial district of his state. On August 7, 1848, he was elected as his party's candidate for the new governor of Missouri, with 59 percent of the vote against the Whig James S. Rollins .

Governor and Congressman

King took office on November 20, 1848. Eight more counties were created in Missouri during his tenure . At that time the first overland line of the stagecoach was put into operation. A mental hospital was opened. It was also around this time that the Pacific Railroad began planning the railroad development of the state.

In 1852 a first attempt to be elected to Congress failed . In 1860, King was a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in Baltimore and Charleston . As early as 1855 he took part as a delegate at a conference of slave owners that was held in Lexington . This conference promoted slavery in the Kansas Territory , which fueled the situation there and added to tension in the area.

Between 1862 and 1863 King served as a judge again, and between 1863 and 1865 he was a member of the US House of Representatives. After his re-election failed, he withdrew from politics. He died in St. Louis on April 22, 1870. Austin King was married twice.

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personal data
SURNAME	King, Austin Augustus
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	September 21, 1802
PLACE OF BIRTH	Sullivan County , Tennessee
DATE OF DEATH	April 22, 1870
Place of death	St. Louis , Missouri