B. Platt Carpenter

Benjamin Platt Carpenter ( MAY 1837 Dutchess County, New York, † 1921) was an American politician. He was from 1884 to 1885, the ninth Governor of the Montana Territory.

Early years in New York

Carpenter attended until 1857, the Union College in Schenectady. After studying law he was admitted to the bar in 1858. In the following years, he held several offices in New York State. He was district attorney, district judge, member of the Senate of New York and a delegate to a constitutional convention of that State. As a member of the Republican Party Carpenter attended the Republican National Conventions of 1868 and 1872, on which Ulysses S. Grant were each nominated as a presidential candidate. In 1881 he was chairman of his party in Montana.

Career in Montana

In December 1884 Carpenter was appointed by President Chester A. Arthur as the new governor of the Montana Territory. In January 1885, he arrived in the capital, Helena, where he settled permanently. Between December 16, 1884, to July 13, 1885, he exercised the office of governor. He stayed even after his tenure in Montana. In 1889, he was a member of the Constituent Assembly of that State. Carpenter was also involved in the development of legislation of the new state. He then worked as a lawyer in Helena. He was married in 1860 to Esther Thorn, with whom he had three children.