Philip Allen (September 1, 1785December 16, 1865) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

manufacturer Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to a ran ...

and

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 ...

from

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. He served as

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 ...

and as a Democratic member of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Early life

Allen was born in

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Bay ...

, the son of Zachariah Allen and Nancy Crawford Allen. He was educated by private tutors and attended Taunton Academy and Robert Rogers School in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...

. In 1803, he graduated from the College of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (the former name of

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 ...

) at Providence. After graduation, he engaged in mercantile pursuits and foreign commerce before becoming a manufacturer of cotton goods in

Smithfield, Rhode Island Smithfield is a town that is located in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Hanton City, Stillwater and Greenville. The population was 22,118 at the 2020 cen ...

. He was president of the Providence Insurance Company, and in 1831 he began manufacturing cotton goods in Providence.

Political career

He began his political career as a member of the

Rhode Island House of Representatives The Rhode Island House of Representatives is the lower house of the Rhode Island General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island, the upper house being the Rhode Island Senate. It is composed of 75 members, elected t ...

, serving from 1819 to 1821. In 1827, he was appointed pension agent and president of the Rhode Island branch of the United States Bank. Allen was elected as the Democratic

in 1851. He served as Governor until 1853, when he resigned that office after being elected to represent

in the

. Allen served in the Senate from July 20, 1853 to March 3, 1859, and was Chairman for the Committee of Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry during the

Thirty-third Congress The 33rd United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C. from March 4, 1853, ...

and the

Thirty-fourth Congress The 34th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1855, ...

. He was not a candidate for renomination, and retired from politics and business in 1859. He died in Providence on December 16, 1865, and is interred in the

North Burial Ground The North Burial Ground is a cemetery in Providence, Rhode Island dating to 1700, the first public cemetery in Providence. It is located north of downtown Providence, bounded by North Main Street, Branch Avenue, the Moshassuck River, and Ceme ...

in Providence.

Family life

He married Phoebe Aborn in 1815, and they had eleven children.

Honors

In 2016, Allen was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* *
National Governors Association
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Allen, Philip 1785 births 1865 deaths Politicians from Providence, Rhode Island American people of English descent Democratic Party United States senators from Rhode Island Democratic Party governors of Rhode Island Democratic Party members of the Rhode Island House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians Brown University alumni Burials at North Burying Ground (Providence)