Washington Montgomery Bartlett (February 29, 1824 – September 12, 1887) was an American politician who served as the 16th

governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

from January 1887 until his death in September of that year, as well as the 20th

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

from 1883 to 1887. He was the first Jewish governor of any U.S. state and – to date – the only

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish governor of California. Bartlett converted to

Congregationalism Congregationalist polity, or congregational polity, often known as congregationalism, is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or "autonomous". Its first articul ...

upon his death bed and was buried as a Christian.

Biography

Bartlett was born in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

in 1824, the son of Sarah E. Melhado and Cosam Emir Bartlett. His mother was a Sephardic Jew. Unlike the second elected Jewish governor,

Moses Alexander Moses Alexander (November 13, 1853 – January 4, 1932) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 11th governor of Idaho, the second elected Jewish governor of a U.S. state, and the first who actually practiced that religion. ...

of Idaho, Bartlett was not particularly religious and did not participate in Jewish observances while in California: His funeral was conducted at the Trinity Episcopal Church in San Francisco. He was a lifelong bachelor and a printer by trade. During his lifetime Bartlett was a San Francisco newspaper publisher, San Francisco County Clerk, lawyer,

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

member, mayor, and finally a governor. Bartlett's term as governor started and ended in 1887 when he died in office of

Bright's disease Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that are described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. It was characterized by swelling and the presence of albumin in the urine, and was frequently accompanied b ...

nine months into his term. His inaugural address after being elected as governor was presented on January 8, 1887. Bartlett is buried in Mountain View Cemetery in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

. File:Bartlett-grave.jpg, Washington Bartlett's tomb at Mountain View Cemetery in

References

External links

Washington Bartlett biography
at the

California State Library The California State Library is the state library of the State of California, founded in 1850 by the California State Legislature. The Library collects, preserves, generates and disseminates a wide array of information. Today, it is the central ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bartlett, Washington Montgomery 1824 births 1887 deaths American publishers (people) American Sephardic Jews California lawyers Democratic Party California state senators Democratic Party governors of California Jewish American state governors of the United States Jewish mayors of places in the United States Mayors of San Francisco Politicians from Savannah, Georgia Burials at Mountain View Cemetery (Oakland, California) 19th-century American politicians Jewish American people in California politics 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American businesspeople