Henry Dutton (February 12, 1796 – April 26, 1869) was an American politician and the 38th Governor of Connecticut.

Biography

Dutton was born in

Plymouth, Connecticut Plymouth is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Plymouth, Devon, England. The population was 11,671 at the 2020 census, down from 12,243 at the 2010 census. The town of Plymouth includes the villages of Plymo ...

on February 12, 1796. He studied at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

and graduated in 1818. While he tutored at Yale University from 1821 to 1823, he studied law with the Hon. Roger Minot Sherman. He also was principal at the

Fairfield Academy Fairfield Academy was an academy that existed for nearly one hundred years in the Town of Fairfield, Herkimer County, New York. Founding It was organized as an academy for men in 1802, when the community was an active local manufacturing center. ...

for two years. In 1823 he was admitted to the bar. He married Elizabeth Elliot Joy and they had three daughters and one son.

Career

Dutton moved to

Newtown, Connecticut Newtown is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is part of the Greater Danbury metropolitan area as well as the New York metropolitan area. Newtown was founded in 1705, and later incorporated in 1711. As of the 2020 censu ...

in 1823. He served in the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

in 1828, 1834, 1838, 1839, and 1850. He moved to Bridgeport in 1837, and then to

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

in 1847 to accept the appointment to become Kent Professor of Law at Yale, a position he held until his death. He was also a member of the

Connecticut Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sena ...

in 1849. He served as President pro tempore of the Connecticut Senate. He was the unsuccessful candidate for governor in

1853 Events January–March * January 6 – Florida Governor Thomas Brown signs legislation that provides public support for the new East Florida Seminary, leading to the establishment of the University of Florida. * January 8 – Taiping Reb ...

of the Whig Party. Dutton was elected Governor of Connecticut in 1854 becoming the last Whig to hold that office. Although he had finished second place to

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Samuel Ingham Samuel Ingham (September 5, 1793 – November 10, 1881) was a two-term Congressman from Connecticut. He is not to be confused with the former Secretary of the Treasury Samuel D. Ingham. He was born in Hebron, Connecticut, Hebron on Septemb ...

in the April popular vote, because no candidate received a majority, the state legislature decided the election. Dutton was elected by a vote of 140 to 93 in the state legislature (known as the

Connecticut General Assembly The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Th ...

). During his term, the Kansas-Nebraska Bill became law in May 1854, and a prohibition law was also enacted. In 1855, Dutton ran unsuccessfully for re-election and finished in third place behind both Ingham and the victor William T. Minor. He left office on May 2, 1855. After completing his term, he served on the bench of the Superior Court and the Supreme Court of Errors from 1861 to 1866.

Death

Dutton died on April 26, 1869, and is interred at the Grove Street Cemetery, New Haven,

New Haven County, Connecticut New Haven County is a county in the south central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 864,835, making it the third-most populous county in Connecticut. Two of the state's top 5 largest cities, New ...

References

External links

* Sobel, Robert and John Raimo. ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978''. Greenwood Press, 1988.
National Governors AssociationThe National Cyclopaedia of American Biography
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dutton, Henry 1796 births 1869 deaths Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Governors of Connecticut People from Plymouth, Connecticut Yale University alumni Yale University faculty Connecticut Whigs Whig Party state governors of the United States 19th-century American politicians Presidents pro tempore of the Connecticut Senate People from Newtown, Connecticut Politicians from Bridgeport, Connecticut Justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court 19th-century American judges