William Windom

William Windom ( born May 10, 1827 Belmont County, Ohio; † 29 January 1891 in New York City ) was an American politician ( Republican), who belonged to the Treasury under three presidents of the Cabinet of the United States. He also represented the State of Minnesota in both chambers of Congress.

Windom studied law, took his degree in 1850 and was admitted to the legal profession. From 1852 he was a prosecutor in Knox County. 1855 Windom moved into the Minnesota Territory and settled in Winona. As a member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the House of Representatives of the United States and remained there on 4 March 1859 to 3 March 1869. As a U.S. Senator Daniel Sheldon Norton died in 1870, Windom was intended, whose Senate seat until the election of a successor to occupy. Windom exercised this mandate from 15 July 1870 to 22 January 1871, and was then replaced by Ozora P. Stearns. As Stearns decided not to run for another term, to Windom applied for the Senate seat. He was elected and was thus after his successful re-election in 1877 of 4 March 1871 to the March 7, 1881 again United States Senator.

In March 1881 Windom resigned from his post senator to become finance minister in the cabinet of President James A. Garfield; after his death in September of the same year, he retained his post under the successor Chester A. Arthur only for a short time. Windom resigned in November as a minister, he was elected to the Senate of the United States to occupy the left by himself as vacant seat again. This time he held from 15 November 1881 to March 3, 1883 to his home state in the Senate. He was there one of the Chairmen of the influential Committee on Foreign Relations.

In 1883 he went to New York and practiced as a lawyer again. Already in 1889 he returned to politics and was re-appointed as Minister of Finance in the cabinet of President Benjamin Harrison. He died during his term of office at the age of 64 years and was buried at Rock Creek Cemetery in Washington.

According to him, two churches were named in Minnesota, for a Windom in Cottonwood County and on the other Windom Township, Mower County. His image was used from 1891 to 1896 silver certificates of the United States.