Emory Washburn

Emory Washburn (* February 14, 1800 in Leicester, Worcester County, Massachusetts, † March 18, 1877 in Cambridge, Massachusetts ) was an American politician and from 1854 to 1855 Governor of Massachusetts.

Early years and political rise

Emory Washburn attended Dartmouth College and then until 1817, the Williams College. After a subsequent law degree from the Law School of Harvard University, he began in 1817 in Worcester and Leicester to work as a lawyer. Between 1826 and 1828, and again in 1838 he was a deputy in the House of Representatives from Massachusetts. From 1830 to 1834 he served on the senior staff of Governor Levi Lincoln Jr.. Emory Washburn was a member of the Whig party and sat from 1841 to 1842 in the Massachusetts Senate. From 1844 to 1847 he was a judge in a court of appeal. In the gubernatorial election of 1853 Washburn ran as the candidate of the Whigs. Since no candidate achieved an absolute majority, the state Senate had to determine the governor. This opted for Washburn. Among the defeated candidates there was also the Free Soil Party An incoming for the Henry Wilson, who later became Vice President of the United States.

Governor of Massachusetts

Emory Washburn took up his new post on January 12, 1854. He should be the last governor of the Whigs in Massachusetts. During his tenure, some social reforms were introduced and prepared the foundation of Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Washburn was instrumental in the founding of this institution. After he was not re-elected in 1854, he had to surrender to Henry Gardner from his office on January 3, 1855.

Further CV

The following decades was Washburn Professor of Law at Harvard University. He was in the Education Committee of Massachusetts and curator of the Williams College. Washburn was a member of the Historical Society of Massachusetts, and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Between 1876 and 1877 he was again a deputy in the House of Representatives from Massachusetts. Emory Washburn died on 18 March 1877., With his wife Marianne Giles Cornelia whom he had three children.