Henry Howard (April 2, 1826 – September 22, 1905) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the 32nd

Governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, o ...

from 1873 to 1875.

Early life

Howard was born in

Cranston, Rhode Island Cranston, once known as Pawtuxet, is a city in Providence County, Rhode Island. The official population of the city in the 2020 United States Census was 82,934, making it the second largest in the state. The center of population of Rhode Island i ...

to Jesse and Mary Howard. He attended

Smithville Seminary The Smithville Seminary was a Freewill Baptist institution established in 1839 on what is now Institute Lane in Smithville-North Scituate, Rhode Island. Renamed the Lapham Institute in 1863, it closed in 1876. The site was then used as the campus ...

and in 1848 he studied law in the office of future

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

Governor

William W. Hoppin William Warner Hoppin (September 1, 1807 – April 19, 1890) was the 24th Governor of Rhode Island from 1854 to 1857. Early life Hoppin was a native of Providence, Rhode Island. He graduated from the Hopkins School in 1824 and then went to Yal ...

. In 1851, he was admitted to the

Rhode Island Bar The Rhode Island Bar Association (RIBAR or RIBA) is the unified (mandatory) bar association of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Organization Founded in 1898, the Rhode Island Bar Association is a unified bar association with over 6,000 attorne ...

and began a private law practice.

Career

While serving in the

Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower house, lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 re ...

, Howard was a delegate to the

1856 Republican National Convention The 1856 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that met from June 17 to June 19 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was the first national nominating convention of the Republican Party, which had been founded tw ...

which nominated

John C. Fremont John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

as the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

presidential candidate. In 1858, Howard abandoned his law practice to open a

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

office for his father-in-law's business. When Elisha Harris died in 1861, Howard returned to Rhode Island to take a larger role in managing the company. When it was incorporated in 1865 as the Harris Manufacturing Company, Howard was named the president. His brother, David, played a role in the incorporation. Howard remained active in Republican Party politics, serving as an

elector Elector may refer to: * Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors * Elector, a member of an electoral college ** Confederate elector, a member of ...

in the 1872 presidential election which granted a second term to

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant (born Hiram Ulysses Grant ; April 27, 1822July 23, 1885) was an American military officer and politician who served as the 18th president of the United States from 1869 to 1877. As Commanding General, he led the Union Ar ...

. In 1873, Howard was elected to the first of two consecutive terms as Governor of Rhode Island. He declined to seek a third term. In 1876, he served once again a delegate to the National Republican Convention, and in 1878 he was nominated by President

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governor ...

as an assistant commissioner to the Paris Exposition. In 1878, Howard, with Pardon Armington and Gardiner C. Sims, established the Armington and Sims Engine Company, manufacturing high-speed piston valve

steam engines A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

. The consistent output of their engines prompted

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February 11, 1847October 18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventio ...

to use them for his

Pearl Street Station Pearl Street Station was the first commercial central power plant in the United States. It was located at 255–257 Pearl Street in the Financial District of Manhattan, New York City, just south of Fulton Street on a site measuring . The station ...

power plant in New York. The company's finances suffered from the depression following the

Panic of 1893 The Panic of 1893 was an economic depression in the United States that began in 1893 and ended in 1897. It deeply affected every sector of the economy, and produced political upheaval that led to the political realignment of 1896 and the pres ...

, and in 1896 it failed entirely, and its assets were sold to the Eastern Engine company.New England Wireless and Steam Museum, Armington and Sims Engine Co.
at users.ids.net In 1879, Howard founded the Providence Telephone Company, serving as its president for the rest of his life.

Retirement and death

In 1900, Howard retired, and the Harris Mill in

Coventry, Rhode Island Coventry is a town in Kent County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 35,688 at the 2020 census and is part of the . Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of . of it is land and of it ...

was sold to Interlaken Mills, which was managed in part by Howard's son-in-law, Edward Bucklin. Howard died in 1905, and is buried at Greenwood Cemetery in

Family life

In 1851, he married Catherine Greene Harris (1830-1907), the daughter of

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

-owner and former Governor

Elisha Harris Elisha Harris (September 8, 1791 – February 1, 1861) of Coventry, Kent County, Rhode Island, was Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island, 1846–47 serving under Governor Byron Diman and the 20th Governor of Rhode Island 1847–49. B ...

. Howard and his wife had one daughter, Jessie, and two sons, Elisha and Charles.

References

External links

*
Harris Mill history from the State of Rhode Island

Biography at the National Governor's Association

{{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Henry 1826 births 1905 deaths Republican Party governors of Rhode Island Politicians from Cranston, Rhode Island People from Coventry, Rhode Island Rhode Island lawyers 1872 United States presidential electors Burials in Rhode Island