William M. Bunn

William Malcolm Bunn

William Malcolm Bunn (born January 1, 1842 in Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , † September 19, 1923 ibid) was an American politician and territorial governor of the Idaho Territory from 1884 to 1885 .

Early years and political advancement

William Bunn grew up in Pennsylvania and participated in the Civil War as a member of an infantry unit from that state . He was wounded in the meantime. In 1862 he was a prisoner of war in Richmond for a few months before being exchanged. He later worked as a trader and became a member of the National Guard, in whose ranks he rose to become a colonel. Then Bunn joined his brothers' wood processing company.

Bunn became a member of the Republican Party . In the following years he was a delegate at numerous party meetings in Pennsylvania and some Republican National Conventions . Between 1868 and 1870 he was a member of the House of Representatives from Pennsylvania . Bunn also worked as a notary and executor. In 1878 he bought the newspaper "Sunday Transcript", which he then published himself.

Territorial Governor of Idaho

In 1884, Bunn was named governor of the Idaho Territory by his fellow party member, then President Chester A. Arthur . Bunn held this office from 1884 to 1885. At that time, a law was being prepared that would allow the territory to join the United States as a state. The governor was personally involved in the draft. However, this law could not come into force because the new President Grover Cleveland , who had been in office since March 1885, refused to approve. Therefore, Idaho could only be accepted into the Union after the end of Cleveland's first term under the new President Benjamin Harrison .

As territorial governor, Bunn required an assurance from all voters that they were not polygamists. This measure was directed against the Mormons . After the aforementioned change of government in Washington , William Bunn was replaced by Edward A. Stevenson .

Another résumé

After his time in the Idaho Territory ended, Bunn returned to Pennsylvania, where he returned to the newspaper business. He was also known as an art collector and guest speaker. William Bunn died in Philadelphia, the city of his birth in 1923.

Web links

• William M. Bunn in the database of Find a Grave (English)