Horace Fairbanks

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Horace Fairbanks

Horace Fairbanks (born March 21, 1820 in Barnet , Caledonia County , Vermont , † March 17, 1888 in New York City ) was an American politician and governor of the state of Vermont from 1876 to 1878 .

Early years and advancement

Horace Fairbanks was a son of Erastus Fairbanks , who was governor of Vermont twice between 1852 and 1861. Horace attended the public schools in his home country and the Phillips Academy . Then he joined the family-owned company E&T Fairbanks & Company , which was once founded by his father and uncle. The company made scales and measuring equipment and was Vermont's largest employer at the time. Horace soon rose to the position of head of accounting at the company. At the same time he was active in other industries. He was president of the First National Bank of St. Johnsbury and a local railroad company. Politically, he was a member of the then dominant Republican Party in Vermont . In 1869, Fairbanks was elected to the State Senate. However, due to an illness, he was unable to take up this mandate.

Governor of Vermont and another résumé

In 1876 he was elected the new governor of his state. Horace Fairbanks took up his new office on October 5, 1876. During his two-year term of office, an agriculture committee was founded and the legal basis for the approval of medical professionals was created. At the end of his tenure, Fairbanks returned to his private business. He was also a curator of the University of Vermont . Horace Fairbanks also made a name for himself as a philanthropist. As early as 1871 he donated a public library with around 8,000 volumes to the city of St. Johnsbury . Further donations of this kind followed later. A museum named after him was set up in his honor. Horace Fairbanks had been married to Mary E. Taylor since 1840. The couple had three children.

literature

  • Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 4, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

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