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Robert Charles Winthrop (May 12, 1809 – November 16, 1894) was an American lawyer and philanthropist, who served as the
speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the U. ...
. He was a descendant of
John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...
.


Early life

Robert Charles Winthrop was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Thomas Lindall Winthrop (1760–1841), the
Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts The lieutenant governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His ...
, and Elizabeth Bowdoin Temple (1769–1825), who were married on July 25, 1786. He was the youngest of 13 children. His maternal grandparents were Sir John Temple, 8th Baronet (1731–1798), the first British envoy to the United States, and Elizabeth Bowdoin, the daughter of
James Bowdoin James Bowdoin II (; August 7, 1726 – November 6, 1790) was an American political and intellectual leader from Boston, Massachusetts, during the American Revolution and the following decade. He initially gained fame and influence as a wealthy ...
(1726–1790), the
Governor of Massachusetts The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...
. His paternal great-great grandfathers were
Joseph Dudley Joseph Dudley (September 23, 1647 – April 2, 1720) was a colonial administrator, a native of Roxbury in Massachusetts Bay Colony, and the son of one of its founders. He had a leading role in the administration of the Dominion of New England ...
(1647–1720) and Wait Still Winthrop (1641/2–1717). Winthrop attended the prestigious
Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...
, and graduated from
Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
in 1828, which he attended with Dr.
Henry Ingersoll Bowditch Henry Ingersoll Bowditch (August 9, 1808 – January 14, 1892) was an American physician and a prominent Christian abolitionist. Bowditch was born on August 9, 1808, in Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Bowditch, a renowned mathematician. He gr ...
,
George Stillman Hillard George Stillman Hillard (September 22, 1808 – January 21, 1879) was an American lawyer and author. Besides developing his Boston legal practice (with Charles Sumner as a partner), he served in the Massachusetts legislature, edited several Bo ...
, Judge John Gilchrist, Edward Sprague Rand, and others of note.


Career

After studying law with
Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...
he was admitted to the
bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...
in 1831 and practiced in Boston. At 24, he served in the
Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
from 1835 to 1840, and served as
Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
of that body from 1838 to 1840. He was elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
in 1838.American Antiquarian Society Members Directory
/ref> Winthrop was elected US Representative from Massachusetts as a Whig to the 26th
United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of
Abbott Lawrence Abbott Lawrence (December 16, 1792, Groton, Massachusetts – August 18, 1855) was a prominent American businessman, politician, and philanthropist. He was among the group of industrialists that founded a settlement on the Merrimack River that w ...
; he was reelected to the
27th Congress The 27th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. between March 4, 1 ...
and served from November 9, 1840, to May 25, 1842, when he resigned due to the death of his wife. He was subsequently elected to the 27th Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of his successor,
Nathan Appleton Nathan Appleton (October 6, 1779July 14, 1861) was an American merchant and politician and a member of " The Boston Associates". Early life Appleton was born in New Ipswich, New Hampshire, the son of Isaac Appleton (1731–1806) and his wife Ma ...
; he was reelected to the 28th and to the
three 3 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 3, three, or III may also refer to: * AD 3, the third year of the AD era * 3 BC, the third year before the AD era * March, the third month Books * '' Three of Them'' (Russian: ', literally, "three"), a 1901 ...
succeeding
Congresses A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ad ...
and served from November 29, 1842 until July 30, 1850. He served as the
Speaker of the House The speaker of a deliberative assembly, especially a legislative body, is its presiding officer, or the chair. The title was first used in 1377 in England. Usage The title was first recorded in 1377 to describe the role of Thomas de Hungerf ...
during the
30th Congress The 30th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1847, ...
(1847–1849), but could not secure a second term, losing the 1849 speakership election to
Howell Cobb Howell Cobb (September 7, 1815 – October 9, 1868) was an American and later Confederate political figure. A southern Democrat, Cobb was a five-term member of the United States House of Representatives and the speaker of the House from 184 ...
in a protracted 63-ballot contest. He was elected a Fellow of the
American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
in 1849. After
Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the U.S. Secretary of State under Presidents William Henry Harrison, ...
resigned from the
United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...
to become Secretary of State in 1850, Winthrop resigned from the House and, at 41, was appointed by fellow Whig Governor George Briggs to fill the remainder of Webster's Senate term. Winthrop's views proved no more palatable to
abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...
than did Webster's, and he failed to win reelection by the state legislature to either of Massachusetts' Senate seats in 1851. He resigned without completing his term immediately following his election loss. Later that year, Winthrop actually won a popular plurality in the race for
Massachusetts Governor The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces. Massachusetts ...
but as the state Constitution required a majority, the election was thrown into the legislature. The same coalition of Democrats and
Free Soilers The Free Soil Party was a short-lived coalition political party in the United States active from 1848 to 1854, when it merged into the Republican Party. The party was largely focused on the single issue of opposing the expansion of slavery into ...
defeated him again. His final venture into elected political office was as a
presidential elector The United States Electoral College is the group of presidential electors required by the Constitution to form every four years for the sole purpose of appointing the president and vice president. Each state and the District of Columbia appo ...
on the Whig ticket in
1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...
. Afterwards, Winthrop became an independent, unsuccessfully supporting
Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...
, John Bell, and
George McClellan George Brinton McClellan (December 3, 1826 – October 29, 1885) was an American soldier, Civil War Union general, civil engineer, railroad executive, and politician who served as the 24th governor of New Jersey. A graduate of West Point, McCl ...
.


Later career

With his political career over at the young age of 43, Winthrop spent the remainder of his life in literary, historical, and philanthropic pursuits. He was a major early patron of the
Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also the Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse'') of the Commonweal ...
and president of the
Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Bost ...
from 1855 to 1885, during which time he wrote a biography of his ancestor
John Winthrop John Winthrop (January 12, 1587/88 – March 26, 1649) was an English Puritan lawyer and one of the leading figures in founding the Massachusetts Bay Colony, the second major settlement in New England following Plymouth Colony. Winthrop led t ...
. He served as the president of the Massachusetts Bible Society for several years where he advocated that Christian
morality Morality () is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are distinguished as proper (right) and those that are improper (wrong). Morality can be a body of standards or principles derived from a code of cond ...
was the necessary condition of a free society. His most notable Christian philosophy for governing men, was as follows:
Men, in a word, must necessarily be controlled either by a power within them or by a power without them; either by the Word of God or by the strong arm of man; either by the Bible or by the bayonet.
His most notable contributions came as permanent Chairman and President of the
Peabody Education Fund The Peabody Education Fund was established by George Peabody in 1867, after the American Civil War, for the purpose of promoting "intellectual, moral, and industrial education in the most destitute portion of the Southern States" except schools fo ...
Trustees, which he served from 1867 to his death. As well as steering the contributions of the Peabody Trust, Winthrop gave his own money to various
Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
schools A school is an educational institution designed to provide learning spaces and learning environments for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is sometimes compulsor ...
, the most long lasting of which was the $1,500 of
seed money Seed money, sometimes known as seed funding or seed capital, is a form of securities offering in which an investor invests capital in a startup company in exchange for an equity stake or convertible note stake in the company. The term ''seed'' su ...
provided to a teacher's college that renamed itself
Winthrop University Winthrop University is a public university in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was founded in 1886 by David Bancroft Johnson, who served as the superintendent of Columbia, South Carolina, schools. He received a grant from Robert Charles Winthrop, ...
in gratitude. He became a noted
orator An orator, or oratist, is a public speaker, especially one who is eloquent or skilled. Etymology Recorded in English c. 1374, with a meaning of "one who pleads or argues for a cause", from Anglo-French ''oratour'', Old French ''orateur'' (14th ...
, delivering the eulogy for
George Peabody George Peabody ( ; February 18, 1795 – November 4, 1869) was an American financier and philanthropist. He is widely regarded as the father of modern philanthropy. Born into a poor family in Massachusetts, Peabody went into business in dry go ...
in 1870, and speaking at the
ceremony A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin '' caerimonia''. Church and civil (secular) ...
that opened the
Washington Monument The Washington Monument is an obelisk shaped building within the National Mall in Washington, D.C., built to commemorate George Washington, once commander-in-chief of the Continental Army (1775–1784) in the American Revolutionary War and the ...
in 1848. Winthrop was elected a member of the
American Antiquarian Society The American Antiquarian Society (AAS), located in Worcester, Massachusetts, is both a learned society and a national research library of pre-twentieth-century American history and culture. Founded in 1812, it is the oldest historical society in ...
in October 1894. In 1892, in a celebration of his birth, it was noted that he had the distinction of having known every
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
except Washington and Jefferson.


Personal life

On March 12, 1832, he married Elizabeth Cabot Blanchard (1809–1842), the daughter of Francis Blanchard (1784–1813) and Mary Ann Cabot (1784–1809), and the adopted daughter of Samuel P. Gardner. Elizabeth's elder half-brother was banker
John Clarke Lee John Clarke Lee (April 9, 1804 – November 19, 1877) was an American lawyer, merchant, banker and politician who co-founded the prominent stock brokerage firm of Lee, Higginson & Co. Early life Lee was born on April 9, 1804 at Tremont Place in ...
, founder of Lee, Higginson & Co. Before her death, Robert and Elizabeth had three children: * Robert Charles Winthrop, Jr. (1834–1905), who married Frances Pickering Adams (1836–1860). After her death, he married Elizabeth Mason (1844–1924), daughter of Robert Means Mason (1810–1879) and Sarah Ellen Francis (1819–1865) and granddaughter of
Jeremiah Mason Jeremiah Mason (April 27, 1768 – October 14, 1848) was a United States senator from New Hampshire. Early life Mason was born in Lebanon, Connecticut on April 27, 1768. He was a son of Jeremiah Mason (1729/30–1813) and the former Elizabet ...
, on June 1, 1869. * Elizabeth "Eliza" Cabot Winthrop (1838–1921) * John Winthrop (b. 1841) After Elizabeth's death, he married his second wife, Laura (
née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
Derby) Welles, widow of Arnold Francis Welles. Laura was the daughter of attorney John Derby and granddaughter of
Elias Hasket Derby Elias Hasket Derby (August 16, 1739 — September 8, 1799) was a Colonial American merchant based in Salem, Massachusetts who owned or held shares in numerous privateers. The crews of these ships took more than 150 prizes during the American ...
, on November 6, 1849. They remained married until her death in 1861. On November 15, 1865, he married for the third and final time, to Adele (née Granger) Thayer (1820–1892), the widow of John E. Thayer. She was the daughter of
Francis Granger Francis Granger (December 1, 1792 – August 31, 1868) was an American politician who represented Ontario County, New York, in the United States House of Representatives for three non-consecutive terms. He was a leading figure in the state and ...
, the
Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official respons ...
under President
William Henry Harrison William Henry Harrison (February 9, 1773April 4, 1841) was an American military officer and politician who served as the ninth president of the United States. Harrison died just 31 days after his inauguration in 1841, and had the shortest pres ...
and Cornelia Rutsen Van Rensselaer. Winthrop died in Boston in 1894, and is interred in
Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery is the first rural cemetery, rural, or garden, cemetery in the United States, located on the line between Cambridge, Massachusetts, Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, Watertown in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middl ...
,
Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
. In his will, he left bequests to the
Massachusetts Historical Society The Massachusetts Historical Society is a major historical archive specializing in early American, Massachusetts, and New England history. The Massachusetts Historical Society was established in 1791 and is located at 1154 Boylston Street in Bost ...
, the Boston Provident Association, the
Boston Children's Hospital Boston Children's Hospital formerly known as Children's Hospital Boston until 2012 is a nationally ranked, freestanding acute care children's hospital located in Boston, Massachusetts, adjacent both to its teaching affiliate, Harvard Medical Scho ...
, the Library of the
Boston Latin School The Boston Latin School is a public exam school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was established on April 23, 1635, making it both the oldest public school in the British America and the oldest existing school in the United States. Its curriculum f ...
, and the library of the Sunday school of
Trinity Church, Boston Trinity Church in the City of Boston, located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The congregation, currently standing at approximately 4,000 households, was founded in 17 ...
.


Descendants

His granddaughter, Robert Jr.'s daughter Margaret Tyndal Winthrop (1880–1970),''New York Times'' 1970 Jl 9, 37:6 married James Grant Forbes on November 28, 1906. James and Margaret were the parents of Rosemary Isabel Forbes, who married Richard John Kerry and were the parents of
John Forbes Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...
, the
U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...
,
U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...
and
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...
Presidential candidate.


See also

* 59th Massachusetts General Court (1838) *
60th Massachusetts General Court (1839) The 60th Massachusetts General Court, consisting of the Massachusetts Senate and the Massachusetts House of Representatives, met in 1839 during the governorship of Edward Everett. Myron Lawrence served as president of the Senate and Robert Charle ...
* 61st Massachusetts General Court (1840)


References

;Notes ;Sources * * *


External links

* *
Winthrop's role as Chairman of the PEF

Robert Winthrop
''Addresses and Speeches on Various Occasions'', Little, Brown and Company, 1852. 776 pages

* , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Winthrop, Robert Charles 1809 births 1894 deaths Politicians from Boston American people of English descent Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts Speakers of the United States House of Representatives Whig Party United States senators from Massachusetts 1852 United States presidential electors Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Speakers of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Philanthropists from Massachusetts 19th-century American philanthropists Lawyers from Boston Harvard University alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the American Antiquarian Society Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery Winthrop family Boston Latin School alumni