John Renshaw Thomson

John Renshaw Thomson

John Renshaw Thomson (born September 25, 1800 in Philadelphia , †  September 12, 1862 in Princeton , New Jersey ) was an American politician ( Democratic Party ) who represented the state of New Jersey in the US Senate .

John Thomson was a native of Pennsylvania , but moved to New Jersey at a young age, where he attended Princeton public schools and then the College of New Jersey , later Princeton University . In 1817 he went to China for work . He built up a living as a merchant in Canton and served as the United States Consul in that city from 1823 to 1825 . After returning to the US, he settled permanently in Princeton.

He first became a director of the Delaware & Raritan Canal Company ; he later served as president and chief financial officer of the Philadelphia & Trenton Railroad Company , a railroad company. In 1844 Thomson took part in the New Jersey Constitutional Convention; in the same year he ran for the office of governor , but was defeated by the Whig candidate Charles C. Stratton . For the first time, due to a constitutional amendment, the governor was no longer elected by the state legislature, but by the people.

When Robert F. Stockton resigned his seat in the US Senate, John Renshaw Thomson was elected in March 1853 as his successor for the remainder of the term. In 1857 he ran again and was confirmed; but he died before the end of this legislature in his home town of Princeton. During his tenure in the Senate, Thomson served as chairman of the pension committee .

Web links

• John Renshaw Thomson in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• John Renshaw Thomson in the database of Find a Grave (English)