Henry Baldwin Harrison
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Henry Baldwin Harrison (September 11, 1821 - October 29, 1901) was a Republican politician and the 52nd Governor of Connecticut.
Harrison was born in New Haven, Connecticut. He graduated from Yale College in 1846, where he was a member of Skull and Bones,[1] and studied at Yale Law School.[2] He was a member of Connecticut Sons of the American Revolution. He married Mary Elizabeth Osborne (the daughter of Yale Law School professor and U.S. Representative Thomas Burr Osborne and Ann Sherwood.)
Harrison ran for office as a Republican. In 1854, he won a seat in the Connecticut state senate (4th District). He lost a bid for Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut in 1857, and for Governor in 1874, but he returned to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1865, 1873, and 1883; during his last term, he was Speaker of the House. From 1885-1887, he served as Governor of Connecticut.
Harrison's contributions included initiatives on prohibition and abolition of slavery. Issues of great concern to him were education and workers' rights. He served in the Legislature at the time of the Industrial Revolution and witnessed the growing problems caused by industrialization. As Governor, he created the state Bureau of Labor Statistics, and he pushed for compulsory education to the age of 16 for Connecticut's children.
He gave a moving eulogy at the funeral of his cousin, also a Governor of the State of Connecticut, Roger Sherman Baldwin. Harrison said, "It has been well said that Governor Baldwin was a great lawyer. He was an upright, a just, a conscientious and honorable man. Governor Baldwin was a true son of Connecticut. His memory deserves all honors from Connecticut, and from every one of her children."
Harrison died in New Haven on October 29, 1901 and is interred at Grove Street Cemetery in New Haven.
[edit] References
- ^ Millegan, Kris (2003). "The Skeleton Crew". Fleshing Out Skull and Bones: Investigations into America's Most Powerful Secret Society. Walterville, OR: Trine Day. pp. 597–690. ISBN 0972020721. "This list is compiled from material from the Order of Skull and Bones membership books at Sterling Library, Yale University and other public records. The latest books available are the 1971 Living members and the 1973 Deceased Members books. The last year the members were published in the Yale Banner is 1969."
- ^ "Henry Baldwin Harrison." Dictionary of American Biography. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1936. Gale Biography In Context. Web. 13 Apr. 2011.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Thomas M. Waller |
Governor of Connecticut 1885–1887 |
Succeeded by Phineas C. Lounsbury |
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- 1821 births
- 1901 deaths
- Burials at Grove Street Cemetery
- Connecticut Republicans
- Governors of Connecticut
- Lieutenant Governors of Connecticut
- Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives
- People from New Haven, Connecticut
- Republican Party state governors of the United States
- Sons of the American Revolution
- Yale Law School alumni
- Yale University alumni
