William Darlington
William Darlington (born April 28, 1782 in Birmingham , Chester County , Pennsylvania , † April 23, 1863 in West Chester , Pennsylvania) was an American politician . Between 1815 and 1817 and again from 1819 to 1823 he represented the state of Pennsylvania in the US House of Representatives .
Career
William Darlington was a cousin of Edward Darlington (1795-1884) and Isaac Darlington (1781-1839) and a second cousin of Smedley Darlington (1827-1899), all of whom were Congressmen from Pennsylvania. He attended Friends School in Birmingham and grew up on a farm. He then worked as a botanist ; his botanical author's abbreviation is “ Darl. ".
After studying medicine at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and being licensed as a doctor in 1804, he began to work in this profession. In 1806 he became a ship's doctor in the Southeast Asian region. In 1807 he returned to Pennsylvania, where he settled in West Chester as a doctor. At the beginning of the British-American War he set up a volunteer unit from his homeland. During the war he was a major in a regiment made up of volunteers. Politically, he became a member of the Democratic Republican Party .
In the congressional election of 1814 Darlington was elected to the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC , in the second constituency of Pennsylvania , where he succeeded Samuel Henderson on March 4, 1815 . Up until March 3, 1817, he was initially able to complete a legislative term in Congress . In 1818 he was re-elected to the US House of Representatives, where he succeeded his cousin Isaac Darlington on March 4, 1819, who had been his successor two years earlier. After being re-elected, he could remain in Congress until March 3, 1823. In 1823 he was elected a member of the American Philosophical Society .
In 1825, William Darlington became his state's sewer commissioner. He later became President of the West Chester Railroad Co. In 1826 he founded the Natural History Society in West Chester. He has also written several books on botany and natural history. From 1830 to 1863 he was a director and then president of the National Bank of Chester County . He died in West Chester on April 23, 1863.
The botanist John Torrey named Darlingtonia in 1850 in honor of the cobra lily .
Web links
- William Darlington in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)
- William Darlington in the database of Find a Grave (English)
- Author entry and list of described plant names for William Darlington at the IPNI
Individual evidence
- ^ Member History: William Darlington. American Philosophical Society, accessed July 5, 2018 .
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Samuel Henderson |
United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania (2nd constituency) with John Hahn March 4, 1815 - March 3, 1817 |
Isaac Darlington |
| Isaac Darlington |
United States House of Representatives for Pennsylvania (2nd constituency) with Samuel Gross March 4, 1819 - March 3, 1823 |
Joseph Hemphill |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Darlington, William |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American politician and botanist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 28, 1782 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Birmingham , Pennsylvania |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 23, 1863 |
| Place of death | West Chester , Pennsylvania |