Robert Pinckney Dunlap (August 17, 1794 – October 20, 1859) was the

11th 11 (eleven) is the natural number following 10 and preceding 12. It is the first repdigit. In English, it is the smallest positive integer whose name has three syllables. Name "Eleven" derives from the Old English ', which is first atteste ...

Governor of Maine The governor of Maine is the head of government of the U.S. state of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive. The current governor of Maine is J ...

and 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

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

Biography

Born in Brunswick (in modern-day

, then a part of

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), Dunlap was educated by private tutors. He graduated from Bowdoin College,

Brunswick, Maine Brunswick is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States. The population was 21,756 at the 2020 United States Census. Part of the Portland-South Portland-Biddeford metropolitan area, Brunswick is home to Bowdoin College, the Bowdoin Intern ...

, in 1815. His father, John Dunlap, was born in

Dracut, Massachusetts Dracut is a town in Middlesex County. At the 2020 census, the town's population was 32,617, making it the second most populous town in Massachusetts with an open town meeting system of governance. The town covers a total area of 21.36 square m ...

in 1738 and was as a Massachusetts Bay Colonial Militia Captain who served during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

, while his grandfather, Rev. Robert Dunlap, was born in 1715 in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and was a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

minister trained at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1818, and commenced practice in Brunswick. Dunlap served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives from 1821 to 1823. He served as president of the board of overseers of Bowdoin College from 1821 until his death. He served as member of the state militia, and was delegated to receive General Lafayette when he visited Maine in 1824. Dunlap served in the State Senate 1824-1828 and 1831–1833, including three years as

Senate President President of the Senate is a title often given to the presiding officer of a senate. It corresponds to the speaker in some other assemblies. The senate president often ranks high in a jurisdiction's succession for its top executive office: for ex ...

, in 1827, 1828, and 1831. He is, as of 2020, the only person to serve non-consecutive terms as Senate President. In between his Senate terms, he was a member of the Executive Council of Maine. He served four one-year terms as Governor of Maine from 1834 to 1838. Dunlap 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 and Twenty-ninth Congresses (March 4, 1843 – March 3, 1847). He served as chairman of the Committee on Public Expenditures (Twenty-ninth Congress). He served as collector of customs in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

, in 1848-49, and postmaster of Brunswick in 1853-57.

Death and burial

Dunlap died in

, October 20, 1859. He was interred in Pine Grove Cemetery.

References

National Governors Association profile

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunlap, Robert Pinckney 1794 births 1859 deaths American people of Scotch-Irish descent Democratic Party members of the Maine House of Representatives Presidents of the Maine Senate Democratic Party Maine state senators Democratic Party governors of Maine Bowdoin College alumni Politicians from Brunswick, Maine Members of the Executive Council of Maine Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Maine 19th-century American politicians