Samuel Ward King (May 23, 1786 – January 20, 1851) was the 15th

Governor of Rhode Island The governor of Rhode Island is the head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, o ...

from 1839 to 1843. King was born in Johnston,

Providence County, Rhode Island Providence County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. As of the 2020 census, the county's population was 660,741, or 60.2% of the state's population. Providence County contains the city of Providence, the state capi ...

, to William Borden King and Welthian Walton. He attended

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

but did not graduate. He became a medical doctor and worked as a surgeon during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

. In 1820 King was elected town clerk of Johnston. He became a Whig when the party was founded, and was a presidential elector in 1832. In 1838 he was elected to the

Rhode Island Senate The Rhode Island Senate is the upper house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the lower house being the Rhode Island House of Representatives. It is composed of 38 Senators, each of w ...

. He first became governor in 1839 when the legislature failed to grant a majority of votes to the three leading contenders. He was elected to three other terms. During his administration as governor of Rhode Island he took a strong stand against the expanded voting franchise that led to the

Dorr Rebellion The Dorr Rebellion (1841–1842) (also referred to as Dorr's Rebellion, Dorr's War or Dorr War) was an attempt by disenfranchised residents to force broader democracy in the U.S. state of Rhode Island, where a small rural elite was in control of ...

in 1841 – 1842. President

John Tyler John Tyler (March 29, 1790 – January 18, 1862) was the tenth 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 dire ...

refused to send in Federal troops at Governor King's request to suppress the uprising. King married Catherine Latham Angell, with whom he had fourteen children. He is buried in the King family plot in Johnston near the intersection of US Route 6A and Killingly Street.

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Political Graveyard biographical information.

* 1786 births 1851 deaths American surgeons Brown University alumni Dorr Rebellion Governors of Rhode Island People from Johnston, Rhode Island Physicians from Rhode Island Rhode Island Whigs 19th-century American politicians 1832 United States presidential electors Rhode Island state senators Burials in Rhode Island {{Rhode Island-politician-stub