Winfield Scott Hammond (November 17, 1863December 30, 1915) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

. He was a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

Biography

Hammond was born in 1863 in

Southborough, Massachusetts Southborough is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It incorporates the villages of Cordaville, Fayville, and Southville. Its name is often informally shortened to Southboro, a usage seen on many area signs and maps, though ...

, the son of Ellen P. (Panton) and John Washington Hammond. His mother was born in England. He served from

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

in the

United States House of Representatives 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 house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in the 60th, 61st, 62nd, and 63rd congresses from March 4, 1907, to January 6, 1915. He was the

18th 18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. ...

Governor of Minnesota The governor of Minnesota is the head of government of the U.S. state of Minnesota, leading the state's executive branch. Forty people have been governor of Minnesota, though historically there were also three governors of Minnesota Territory. ...

from January 5, 1915, until his death December 30, 1915. Hammond is just one of four Minnesota Democrats to win a gubernatorial election with a Democrat in the White House. He was the second governor of Minnesota to die in office. Joseph Alfred Arner Burnquist succeeded to the governorship to fill the vacancy left by Hammond's death. Minnesota's eighteenth governor had little time to effect significant change before he died in office. Had he lived longer, perhaps Hammond would have realized his ambitious plans to reorganize state government by minimizing bureaucracy and eliminating waste to make Minnesota's wheels turn more efficiently. Instead, his most notable legislation was the "county option bill," a restriction on liquor sales that pleased prohibition advocates. An inscription under Hammond's bust in the capitol describes him as "a scholar in politics". He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

and, upon moving to Mankato at age 21, became principal of its high school. He later studied law while he supervised schools in Watonwan County. He made his permanent home in St. James, where he practiced law and established himself as a political contender. A staunch Democrat in a Republican community, he lost his first bid for Congress in 1892, but perseverance and bipartisan support eventually brought him a congressional seat 14 years later. He interrupted his fourth consecutive term to leave Washington and run for governor. Hammond had been in office only eight months when he suffered

ptomaine Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the spoilage of contaminated food by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food, as well as prions (the agents of mad cow disease) ...

poisoning on a trip south and died of a stroke, aged 52, in

Clinton, Louisiana Clinton is a town in, and the parish seat of, East Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, United States. The town was named for New York Governor DeWitt Clinton. The population was 1,653 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Stati ...

on December 30, 1915.

References

Biographical information
and hi
gubernatorial records
are available for research use at th
Minnesota Historical Society.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hammond, Winfield Scott 1863 births 1915 deaths Dartmouth College alumni Democratic Party governors of Minnesota People from Southborough, Massachusetts Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota 19th-century American politicians People from St. James, Minnesota