Richard French (June 20, 1792 – May 1, 1854) was an American lawyer and politician who served three separate times as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

from

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

Early life and career

Born near

Boonesborough, Kentucky Boonesborough is an unincorporated community in Madison County, Kentucky, United States. Founded by famed frontiersman Daniel Boone in 1778 as one of the first English-speaking settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains, Boonesborough lies in ...

, French attended private schools. He studied law. He was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1820 and commenced practice in

Winchester, Kentucky Winchester is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Clark County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 18,368 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Lexington-Fayette, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. Winchester is located ro ...

. He served as member of the State house of representatives 1820–1826. He served as judge of the circuit court in 1829.

U.S. House

French was elected as a Jacksonian to the Twenty-fourth Congress (March 4, 1835 – March 3, 1837). He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1836 to the Twenty-fifth Congress. He was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for Governor of Kentucky in 1840. French was elected as 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 ...

to the Twenty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1845). French was again elected to the Thirtieth Congress (March 4, 1847 – March 3, 1849).

After Congress

He resumed the practice of law. He died in

Covington, Kentucky Covington is a home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, United States, located at the confluence of the Ohio and Licking Rivers. Cincinnati, Ohio, lies to its immediate north across the Ohio and Newport, to its east across the Licking ...

, on May 1, 1854. He was interred in the family burial ground near Mount Sterling, Kentucky.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:French, Richard 1792 births 1854 deaths Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky 19th-century American politicians Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky