Clark Bissell (September 7, 1782 – September 15, 1857) was the 34th governor of Connecticut. He served as an

associate justice Associate justice or associate judge (or simply associate) is a judicial panel member who is not the chief justice in some jurisdictions. The title "Associate Justice" is used for members of the Supreme Court of the United States and some sta ...

of the

Connecticut Supreme Court The Connecticut Supreme Court, formerly known as the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, is the highest court in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The seven justices sit in Hartford, a ...

from 1829 to 1839. He had previously served as a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

representing Norwalk and the

Connecticut Senate The Connecticut State Senate is the upper house of the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The state senate comprises 36 members, each representing a district with around 99,280 inhabitants. Sen ...

representing the 12th District.

Early life

Bissell was born in

Lebanon, Connecticut Lebanon is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,142 at the 2020 census. The town lies just to the northwest of Norwich, directly south of Willimantic, north of New London, and east of Hartford. The fa ...

on September 7, 1782. He studied at

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

and graduated in 1806. He then studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1809. He married Sally Sherwood and they had six children.

Career

Becoming a member of the

in 1829, Bissell was re-elected in 1841, and served in the

from 1842 to 1843. He also succeeded Jeremiah G. Brainard as an associate judge of the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors from 1829 to 1839.

Governor of Connecticut

Bissell ran unsuccessfully for the Connecticut governorship in 1846. However, he was elected in 1847 as Governor of Connecticut and was re-elected in 1848. During his term, he advocated for reform in education, taxes, and liquor prohibition, however, only insignificant legislation was passed. He vetoed a resolution on divorce, and it was looked upon as sabotaging the legislature's power. Because of this, he was not renominated for the 1849 election. After completing his term as the Governor, Bissell continued as a Professor of Law at

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

, a position he was appointed to during his governorship. He also served in the Connecticut House of Representatives in 1850.

Death

Bissell died on September 15, 1857. He is interred at Norwalk Union Cemetery,

Norwalk, Connecticut , image_map = Fairfield County Connecticut incorporated and unincorporated areas Norwalk highlighted.svg , mapsize = 230px , map_caption = Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Fairfield County and ...

References

External links

* Sobel, Robert and John Raimo. ''Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978''. Greenwood Press, 1988.
The Political Graveyard
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bissell, Clark 1782 births 1857 deaths Connecticut Whigs Connecticut state senators Governors of Connecticut Justices of the Connecticut Supreme Court Members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Mayors of Norwalk, Connecticut Yale College alumni Yale University faculty Whig Party state governors of the United States 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges