Thomas A. Osborn

Thomas Andrew Osborn (born October 26, 1836 in Meadville , Pennsylvania , † February 4, 1898 ibid) was an American politician and from 1873 to 1877 the sixth governor of the state of Kansas .

Early years and political advancement

Thomas Osborn grew up in his homeland in Pennsylvania and attended public schools there. He later did an apprenticeship in the printing trade. With the money he earned, he was able to finance his further education. After studying law and being admitted to the bar in 1857, he settled in Elwood (Kansas), where he practiced his new profession.

Osborn was politically active as a member of the Republican Party since 1859 . Between 1860 and 1863 he was a member and at times even chairman of the Senate of Kansas . In this capacity he presided over the negotiations against Governor Charles L. Robinson , against whom impeachment proceedings had been unsuccessful. For the following two years until 1865 he served as lieutenant governor under Governor Thomas Carney . After his tenure ended in 1865, he was appointed US Marshal for the State of Kansas. He held this post until 1867. In that year he was removed from office by US President Andrew Johnson because he sided with the Radical Republicans in the battle between the President and the radical Republican Congress in Washington, DC . His dismissal made him even more popular with his party in Kansas because they were also on the side of Johnson's opponents. In 1868 Osborn rose to the board of the Republican Party of Kansas, and in 1872 he was nominated by his party as a candidate for the upcoming gubernatorial election.

Kansas Governor

After the successful election, Thomas Osborn was able to take up his four-year term, including a re-election in 1874, on January 13, 1873. His tenure was overshadowed by three problems. For one thing, a plague of locusts destroyed almost the entire harvest in 1874, which was a disaster for farmers and almost led to famine. The government made funds available to the district administrations to help those affected locally. The second problem that the Osborn government had to grapple with was Indian unrest after the murder of a chief's son. The settlers and the government called on the US cavalry to provide a military solution to this problem. The third event of those days was a scandal in the state government: Finance Minister Josuah Hayes was dismissed from his post for massive embezzlement of state funds.

During Osborn's tenure, a new school inspectorate was set up. A hospital was planned to be built in the capital, Topeka , and the constitution was reformed. The latter mainly affected the terms of office of the state's senators and deputies. During his tenure, the railway network was also expanded. At that time, many Mennonites who immigrated from Russia settled in the valley of the Arkansas River , which led to the establishment of new towns and counties in southern Kansas.

Another résumé

After the end of his term in office, Osborn applied in vain for a seat in the US Senate in 1877 . Instead, he was to succeed Cornelius Ambrose Logan to the United States Ambassador in Chile appointed. He held this office between 1877 and 1881. He was instrumental in the negotiations on the border treaty of 1881 between Chile and Argentina . Another appointment as ambassador to Brazil followed , where he was the successor to Henry Washington Hilliard and headed the American mission between 1881 and 1886 . On his return he was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1888 . There he led the delegation from Kansas. Between 1889 and 1897, Osborn was also a member of the Kansas Senate.

In addition, he was also active in business. He has been involved in banking, real estate, and the railroad. Until his death he was director of a railway company. Thomas Osborn died in Meadville in 1898 on his way back from New York City , where he had attended a meeting of railroad directors. He was married to Julia Delahay; the couple had one child together.

Web links

Thomas Osborn in the National Governors Association (English)
Biography at the Kansas Historical Society (English)

Thomas A. Osborn in the database of Find a Grave (English)

Individual evidence

↑ Thomas Andrew Osborn. In: Kansas Historical Society , accessed January 4, 2020.
↑ See Los esfuerzos de la diplomacia norteamericana para obtener la ratificación del Tratado de 1881 :
"(Los respectivos signatarios) deberíamos expresar, en este acto y en el nombre de sus respectivos gobiernos, el profundo aprecio hacia la benévola asistencia con la que sus Excelencias, los Ministros de Estados Unidos acreditados en la República Argentina y en la de Chile, el mayor general Thomas O. Osborn y Mr. Thomas A. Osborn, contribuyeron a las negociaciones que llevaron al acuerdo definitivo y que ha sido firmado gracias a ellos "

personal data
SURNAME	Osborn, Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Osborn, Thomas Andrew (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American politician
DATE OF BIRTH	October 26, 1836
PLACE OF BIRTH	Meadville , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH	February 4, 1898
Place of death	Meadville , Pennsylvania

[1] Thomas Andrew Osborn. In: Kansas Historical Society , accessed January 4, 2020.

[2] See Los esfuerzos de la diplomacia norteamericana para obtener la ratificación del Tratado de 1881 :
"(Los respectivos signatarios) deberíamos expresar, en este acto y en el nombre de sus respectivos gobiernos, el profundo aprecio hacia la benévola asistencia con la que sus Excelencias, los Ministros de Estados Unidos acreditados en la República Argentina y en la de Chile, el mayor general Thomas O. Osborn y Mr. Thomas A. Osborn, contribuyeron a las negociaciones que llevaron al acuerdo definitivo y que ha sido firmado gracias a ellos "