John William Griggs (July 10, 1849 – November 28, 1927) was an American lawyer and Republican Party

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, who served as the 29th

governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

, from 1896 to 1898. As Governor of New Jersey Griggs gained a reputation for siding with "the little guy" in conflicts between impoverished workers and their employers; he was also an advocate of civil rights for

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

. Griggs only left the Governor's mansion when he stepped down to accept the position of the

United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

from 1898 to 1901.

Early life

He was born on his family's farm in

Newton, New Jersey Newton, officially the ''Town of Newton'', is an incorporated municipality located in Sussex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is situated approximately by road northwest of New York City. As the location of the county's administrati ...

on July 10, 1849. He graduated from

Lafayette College Lafayette College is a private liberal arts college in Easton, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1826 by James Madison Porter and other citizens in Easton, the college first held classes in 1832. The founders voted to name the college after General Laf ...

in 1868, where he became a founding member of the Phi Charge of

Theta Delta Chi Theta Delta Chi () is a social fraternity that was founded in 1847 at Union College, New York, United States. While nicknames differ from institution to institution, the most common nicknames for the fraternity are TDX, Thete, Theta Delt, and Thump ...

Career

Griggs served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

in 1876 and 1877, and the

New Jersey Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...

from 1883 through 1888, acting as the president of the Senate in 1886. He was selected as a delegate to the

1888 Republican National Convention The 1888 Republican National Convention was a presidential nominating convention held at the Auditorium Building in Chicago, Illinois, on June 19–25, 1888. It resulted in the nomination of former Senator Benjamin Harrison of Indiana for preside ...

from New Jersey. Holding his inauguration at Taylor's Opera House in 1896 at a formal affair, he was elected

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official res ...

and served from 1896 through 1898. He left the state house in 1898 to serve as

under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

William McKinley until 1901. He was also a trustee to his alma mater,

from 1894 to 1900. He was one of the first members appointed to the

Permanent Court of Arbitration The Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) is a non-UN intergovernmental organization located in The Hague, Netherlands. Unlike a judicial court in the traditional sense, the PCA provides services of arbitral tribunal to resolve disputes that arise ...

the Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

, and served from 1901 to 1912. When the

Consolidated National Bank of New York Consolidated National Bank of New York was a bank operating in New York City. Also referred to in the press as Consolidated National Bank, the institution was organized on July 1, 1902, with capital of $1 million. Wrote ''The New York Times'', t ...

was organized on July 1, 1902, the fourteen directors included individuals such as Griggs,

Henry C. Brewster Henry Colvin Brewster (September 7, 1845 – January 29, 1928) was an American politician and a U.S. Representative from New York. Early life Born in Rochester, New York, Brewster was the son of Simon Latham and Editha Chloe Colvin Brewster. ...

, George Crocker,

Mortimer H. Wagar Mortimer Hartwell Wagar (1857 – December 23, 1926) was an American banker and businessperson. Wagar was a member of the Consolidated Exchange for 33 years. He was president from 1900 until 1903. He retired from the exchange in June 1923, at whi ...

, and

Perry Belmont Perry Belmont (December 28, 1851 – May 25, 1947) was an American politician and diplomat. He served four terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1881 to 1888. Early life and education Belmont was born on December 28, 1851, in New York C ...

. In 1905 he was named the president of the

Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America The Marconi Wireless Telegraph Company of America (commonly called American Marconi) was incorporated in 1899. It was established as a subsidiary of the British Marconi Company and held the U.S. and Cuban rights to Guglielmo Marconi's radio (then ...

, and held that office until the company was reorganized as the

Radio Corporation of America The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

(RCA) in 1919. At RCA he was a director and the company's general counsel until his death.

Death

Griggs died on November 28, 1927 in

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Cedar Lawn Cemetery Cedar Lawn Cemetery is a rural cemetery in Paterson, New Jersey, and is also considered one of the finest Victorian cemeteries in the USA. Cedar Lawn Cemetery officially opened in September 1867, and recorded its first burial on September 27, 186 ...

in that city.

Honors

Griggs Avenue in

Teaneck, NJ Teaneck () is a township in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 U.S. census, the township's population was 39,776, reflecting an increase of 516 (+1.3%) fro ...

bears his name.

References

External links

New Jersey Governor John William Griggs
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The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

* , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Griggs, John 1849 births 1927 deaths Republican Party governors of New Jersey Lafayette College alumni Lafayette College trustees Republican Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Republican Party New Jersey state senators United States Attorneys General People from Newton, New Jersey American Protestants Presidents of the New Jersey Senate Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration McKinley administration cabinet members 19th-century American politicians Burials at Cedar Lawn Cemetery Consolidated National Bank people American judges of international courts and tribunals