Samuel Dickson (March 29, 1807 – May 3, 1858) was a
United States 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 ...
from
New York.
Biography
Samuel Dickson was born on March 29, 1807 in the portion of
Bethlehem, New York that was later incorporated as the town of
New Scotland. He completed preparatory studies and graduated from
Union College
Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...
in 1825.
Dickson studied medicine, received a diploma from the Censors of the Medical Society of the State of New York in May 1829, and practiced in New Scotland.
Opposed to slavery and motivated to repeal the
Kansas–Nebraska Act
The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 () was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law by ...
, Dickson was elected as an
Opposition Party
Parliamentary opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. This article uses the term ''government'' as it is used in Parliamentary systems, i.e. meaning ''t ...
candidate to the Thirty-fourth Congress, holding office from March 4, 1855 to March 3, 1857. He did not seek reelection in 1856, and returned to his New Scotland medical practice.
Dickson died from the lingering effects of an accident. Near the end of his first session in Congress, Dickson stood up from the chair in which he was sitting in order to consult a book. He did not notice that the chair overturned, and when he attempted to resume his seat, Dickson fell heavily onto the floor. The concussion to his spine resulted in gradual paralysis, and within a few months he lost the use of his lower limbs.
Dickson's health continued to decline as a result of the fall. He died in New Scotland on May 3, 1858. He was buried in New Scotland's
Presbyterian Church Cemetery.
References
*
*Medical Society of the County of Albany
Obituary: Samuel Dickson Transactions of the Medical Society of the County of Albany, 1806-1880, Volume 1, 1864, pages 333-334
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dickson, Samuel
1807 births
1858 deaths
People from Albany County, New York
Opposition Party members of the United States House of Representatives from New York (state)
Physicians from New York (state)
Union College (New York) alumni
Burials in New York (state)
19th-century American politicians
New Scotland, New York