William Alexander Richardson

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William Alexander Richardson

William Alexander Richardson (born January 16, 1811 in Lexington , Kentucky , † December 27, 1875 in Quincy , Illinois) was an American politician . He was governor of the Nebraska Territory and represented the state of Illinois in both houses of Congress .

Life

William Richardson attended Walnut Hill School , Center College in Danville, and Transylvania University in Lexington. After studying law and being admitted to the bar, he began practicing in Shelbyville in 1831 . Richardson made a formidable political career in Illinois. Between 1834 and 1835 he was a public prosecutor. From 1836 to 1846 he was alternately both in the House of Representatives and in the Senate of this state; in the House of Representatives he acted as speaker from 1844 to 1846 . In 1844 he was one of the Democratic electors in the presidential election in which James K. Polk was elected president. During the Mexican-American War he rose to major in the army. After the war, he moved to Quincy.

Member of Congress and Governor

Between 1847 and 1856 he was a member of the United States House of Representatives in Washington, DC. In 1856 he resigned from that mandate to become governor of Illinois. However, he was defeated in the election to the Republican William Henry Bissell . In 1858 he was briefly made governor of the Nebraska Territory, succeeding the late Thomas B. Cuming . In the same year he handed over this office to his successor Julius Sterling Morton . In 1861 he returned to the US House of Representatives; served in the United States Senate between 1863 and 1865 . So he experienced the civil war in Congress. Then he worked as a journalist. William Richardson died in December 1875.

According to him, that's Richardson County , Nebraska named.

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Commons : William Alexander Richardson  - Collection of Images, Videos and Audio Files
personal data
SURNAME Richardson, William Alexander
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American politician
DATE OF BIRTH January 16, 1811
PLACE OF BIRTH Lexington , Kentucky
DATE OF DEATH December 27, 1875
Place of death Quincy , Illinois