Philip Tomppert
   HOME

TheInfoList



Click Here for Items Related To - Philip Tomppert
OR:
Philip Tomppert on:   [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Amazon]

Philip Tomppert (June 21, 1808 – October 29, 1873) was the sixteenth and eighteenth
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
of
Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...
in 1865 and 1867 to 1868.


Early life

Philip Tomppert was born on June 21, 1808, in
Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...
, Germany and immigrated to
Wheeling, West Virginia Wheeling is a city in the U.S. state of West Virginia. Located almost entirely in Ohio County, of which it is the county seat, it lies along the Ohio River in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains and also contains a tiny portion extending ...
in 1831, and moved to Louisville in 1837.


Career

Tomppert was elected to the
Kentucky General Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in the ...
in 1849 and the Louisville City Council in 1861, serving until 1864. He was elected mayor April 1, 1865 over Unionist K.P. Thixton. Tomppert was a
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 ...
who advocated an end to the
Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...
and return to the pre-war Union, with slavery intact. Tomppert's election occurred ten years after
Bloody Monday Bloody Monday was a series of riots on August 6, 1855, in Louisville, Kentucky, an election day, when Protestant mobs attacked Irish and German Catholic neighborhoods. These riots grew out of the bitter rivalry between the Democrats and the Nat ...
, an election day race riot in Louisville involving Protestant mobs attacking Irish and German Catholic immigrants. The nativist Know-Nothing Party ultimately won the election in 1855 only to have German-born Tomppert elected as mayor one decade later. A controversy erupted just after Tomppert was sworn in, as it was revealed that a council member, N.S. Glore, had accepted a $5,000 bribe from the president of Louisville & Portland Railroad, Isham Henderson, to approve a street railway along Market Street. Though the council approved it, Tomppert refused to sign the law because of the bribe. As a result, the council
impeach Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...
ed him for "neglect of duty" and voted him out by a 10-2 margin on December 28, 1865. The post was filled by James S. Lithgow until the State Court of Appeals reinstated Tomppert on February 14, 1867, to fill the remainder of the term. Tomppert was subsequently re-elected.


Personal life

Tomppert was a
Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, holding the position of master. Toppert had one daughter, Barbara, who married German newspaperman George Philip Doern. Tomppert died of
typhoid fever Typhoid fever, also known as typhoid, is a disease caused by '' Salmonella'' serotype Typhi bacteria. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often there is a gradual onset of a high fever over several ...
and is buried in Louisville's
Eastern Cemetery Eastern Cemetery is a historic cemetery at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Congress Street in the East Bayside neighborhood of Portland, Maine. Established in 1668, it is the city's oldest historic site, and has more than 4,000 marked ...
.


See also

*
Louisville in the American Civil War Louisville in the American Civil War was a major stronghold of Union forces, which kept Kentucky firmly in the Union. It was the center of planning, supplies, recruiting and transportation for numerous campaigns, especially in the Western Theat ...


References

* 1808 births 1873 deaths Mayors of Louisville, Kentucky People of Kentucky in the American Civil War Deaths from typhoid fever 19th-century American politicians Impeached mayors removed from office Impeached United States officials removed from office {{Louisville-stub