William Wilkins (politician)

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William Wilkins

William Wilkins (born December 20, 1779 in Carlisle , Pennsylvania , † June 23, 1865 in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania) was an American lawyer and politician .

Life

Wilkins was born in Carlisle, Cumberland County , Pennsylvania. He attended Dickinson College and learned the legal profession. Wilkins was admitted to the bar in 1801 and practiced in Pittsburgh. In 1810 he assisted in founding the Pittsburgh Manufacturing Company. He was also president of the Bank of Pittsburgh and chairman of the city council from 1816 to 1819. In 1820 Wilkins was elected to the Pennsylvania House of Representatives and served as district judge from 1821 to 1824. He then became a federal district judge for western Pennsylvania until 1831 . In 1826 he ran unsuccessfully as a representative for the 26th Congress . In the following congressional elections he won for the Democrats , but he did not take office.

As a supporter of the Jacksonian Democracy initiated by Andrew Jacksonian , he was elected senator to the 22nd Congress in 1830 and held this office until June 1834. During this time he was chairman of the judiciary committee and a member of the Senate committee on foreign relations . In the 1832 presidential election , Wilkins received 30 Pennsylvania votes for the vice presidency (the other 189 votes went to official party candidate Martin Van Buren ). As the successor to James Buchanan, he was the American envoy to the Russian Empire in 1834/35 . After a failed candidacy two years earlier, he was elected as a representative in the 28th Congress in 1842 and was a member of parliament until February 1844. During this time he served as chairman of the Justice Committee of the House of Representatives . In 1844/45 he was Secretary of War under President John Tyler . From 1855 to 1857 he held a political office again when he was a member of the Senate from Pennsylvania .

Wilkins died in Homewood, near Pittsburgh, in 1865 and was buried in Homewood Cemetery there.

The city of Wilkinsburg was named after William Wilkins .

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personal data
SURNAME Wilkins, William
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American lawyer and politician
DATE OF BIRTH December 20, 1779
PLACE OF BIRTH Carlisle , Pennsylvania
DATE OF DEATH June 23, 1865
Place of death near Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania