Leonard Monduran Landsborough (August 7, 1857 – March 14, 1927) was an American

agriculturist An agriculturist, agriculturalist, agrologist, or agronomist (abbreviated as agr.), is a professional in the science, practice, and management of agriculture and agribusiness. It is a regulated profession in Canada, India, the Philippines, the U ...

in the

Florin, California Florin is a census-designated place (CDP) in Sacramento County, California, United States. It is part of the Sacramento– Roseville–Folsom Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 52,388 at the 2020 census, up from 47,513 at th ...

, area and a member of the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature, the upper house being the California State Senate. The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The A ...

for the 22nd district. A member of the Populist Party and then 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 ...

, he was active in a movement to protect the rights of Japanese farmers in the

Sacramento Valley , photo =Sacramento Riverfront.jpg , photo_caption= Sacramento , map_image=Map california central valley.jpg , map_caption= The Central Valley of California , location = California, United States , coordinates = , boundaries = Sierra Nevada (ea ...

. He

resigned Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

from the Assembly after being indicted for

malfeasance Misfeasance, nonfeasance, and malfeasance are types of failure to discharge public obligations existing by common law, custom, or statute. The Carta de Logu caused Eleanor of Arborea to be remembered as one of the first lawmakers to set up the ...

while he had been a

Sacramento County Sacramento County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,585,055. Its county seat is Sacramento, which has been the state capital of California since 1854. Sacramento County is the ...

employee, but was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an offense, as far as criminal law is concerned. The finality of an acquittal is dependent on the jurisdiction. In some countries, such as the ...

of all charges.

Biography

Landsborough was born in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

, to British parents James Landsborough from

Stevenston Stevenston ( sco, Steenstoun, gd, Baile Steaphain) is a town and parish in North Ayrshire, Scotland. Along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats it is one of the "Three Towns", all of similar size, on the Firth of Clyde coast; the easternmost parts of ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

, and Georgiana Sothers from

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Landsborough moved to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

. He married Californian Agnes Ethel Rutter, the daughter of James Rutter, a

pioneer Pioneer commonly refers to a settler who migrates to previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited land. In the United States pioneer commonly refers to an American pioneer, a person in American history who migrated west to join in settling and dev ...

settler in the Sacramento Valley who was known for the quality of the

grape A grape is a fruit, botanically a berry, of the deciduous woody vines of the flowering plant genus ''Vitis''. Grapes are a non- climacteric type of fruit, generally occurring in clusters. The cultivation of grapes began perhaps 8,000 years ago, ...

s from his

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

s. There were five children, Thomas R., Amy L., Leonard B., Lloyd and Georgie B. Landsborough testified in favor of

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

farmers in California, who were being threatened with

legal Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

penalties and, as alien Japanese, were not legally able to own

property Property is a system of rights that gives people legal control of valuable things, and also refers to the valuable things themselves. Depending on the nature of the property, an owner of property may have the right to consume, alter, share, r ...

in the state. To get around this stricture, he told a U.S. Congressional investigative committee in 1920, he had been "purchasing land in his own name" and pledging to hand it over to the U.S.-born children of the immigrants when they became adults. He was a member of the American Committee of Justice, which worked against Initiative 1, the Alien Land Law, on the November 2, 1920, California ballot. Landsborough

died Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

on March 14, 1927, at the age of 69.

Public life

Landsborough was appointed deputy county clerk about 1892 by

Clerk W.B. Hamilton, "and since that time he has been one of the most trusted employes in the service of the county." He was active in

Populist Populism refers to a range of political stances that emphasize the idea of "the people" and often juxtapose this group against " the elite". It is frequently associated with anti-establishment and anti-political sentiment. The term developed ...

politics and in 1894 received the Populist nomination for clerk of the

California Supreme Court The Supreme Court of California is the highest and final court of appeals in the courts of the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in San Francisco at the Earl Warren Building, but it regularly holds sessions in Los Angeles and Sacra ...

."Politics Led to His Ruin," ''San Francisco Chronicle'', December 28, 1896, page 4
Library card required In October 1893, Landsborough was elected adjutant of a temporary committee chosen to form a California State unit of the Industrial Legion of the United States organized by "prominent leaders of the People's Party who are also prominent in the

Farmers' Alliance The Farmers' Alliance was an organized agrarian economic movement among American farmers that developed and flourished ca. 1875. The movement included several parallel but independent political organizations — the National Farmers' Alliance and ...

." It was to be "modeled much after the Grand Army f the Republicand partakes of a secret organization character." He was also a member of the state executive committee of the Farmers Alliance. Three years later, in August 1896, the Democrats and the Populists of Sacramento County formed a

fusion ticket Electoral fusion is an arrangement where two or more political parties on a ballot list the same candidate, pooling the votes for that candidate. It is distinct from the process of electoral alliances in that the political parties remain separa ...

to contest the state and county elections. Landsborough was chosen to run for the Assembly in the 22nd District, and he won the November general election by 1,272 votes to 1,074 for William Lovdal, the Republican candidate. Just the next month, though, the news broke that Landsborough had been skimming money from men who had been summoned for jury duty while he was a deputy county clerk. He did this by raising the figure of their jury pay and pocketing the difference in cooperation with a money lender, F.C. Hyde. Landsborough made a full confession to the county clerk, and repaid the money, $143.50, but later he was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

by a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

and was charged with forgery and fraudulent conduct. Upon trial the next May, he was acquitted of the charges, with the jury being out "but a few minutes." Landsborough took part in the state convention of the Democratic Party in Sacramento in

September September is the ninth month of the year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars, the third of four months to have a length of 30 days, and the fourth of five months to have a length of fewer than 31 days. September in the Northern H ...

1902, and in April

1910 Events January * January 13 – The first public radio broadcast takes place; live performances of the operas '' Cavalleria rusticana'' and ''Pagliacci'' are sent out over the airwaves, from the Metropolitan Opera House in New York C ...

he ran for a seat "for trustees of the high school.""Glance Back, April 2, 1910," ''Elk Grove Citizen''
/ref>

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Landsborough, Leonard M. Australian emigrants to the United States Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly California Populists People from Sacramento County, California 1857 births 1927 deaths Japanese-American history People's Party (United States) elected officials American people of English descent American people of Scottish descent