George Clement Perkins

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George Perkins, photographed by Thomas Houseworth

George Clement Perkins (born August 23, 1839 in Kennebunkport , Maine , † February 26, 1923 in Oakland , California ) was an American politician . He served as the 14th governor of the state of California, which he also represented in the US Senate .

Early years

The young Perkins had only a mediocre education. At the age of twelve he was hired as a cabin boy for a shipping company and went to sea for a few years. He then tried his luck in a wide variety of areas such as agriculture as a farmer and rancher, in mining, as a whaler or in steamship travel. But his real passion should be politics.

Political career

Perkins joined the Republican Party and was a member of the California Senate from 1869 to 1876 . He was then elected governor of the state. He was inducted into office on January 8, 1880, and held it until January 10, 1883. After the end of his legislative term he tried in 1886, initially unsuccessfully, to be elected to the US Senate. After Senator Leland Stanford's death, however, he took his vacant seat in Congress on July 26, 1893 . In the years that followed, Perkins was re-elected several times. He remained in Washington as a senator until March 3, 1915 . During this time he was a member of several Senate committees. He was temporarily chairman of the fisheries committee and a member of the committees for naval affairs and for the railway sector. He also sat on the Committee on Civil Service and Retrenchment .

After he left the Senate in 1915, he retired to Oakland. He died there on February 26, 1923.

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personal data
SURNAME Perkins, George Clement
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH August 23, 1839
PLACE OF BIRTH Kennebunkport , Maine
DATE OF DEATH February 26, 1923
Place of death Oakland , California