Benjamin Chew Howard

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Benjamin Chew Howard (November 5, 1791–March 6, 1872) was an American congressman and the fifth reporter of decisions of the United States Supreme Court, serving from 1843 to 1861.

Howard was born in Baltimore County, Maryland, the son of John Eager Howard. He received a A.B. and an A.M. from Princeton University in 1809 and 1812, respectively. His study of law was interrupted by his service in the War of 1812 in which he reached the rank of brigadier general. A Democrat, he served on the city council of Baltimore in 1820 and both houses of the Maryland legislature. He was elected to the Twenty-first and Twenty-second United States Congress, serving from March 4, 1829 to March 3, 1833. In 1835, President Andrew Jackson named Richard Rush and Howard to arbitrate the Ohio-Michigan boundary dispute.

He returned to Congress in the Twenty-fourth Congress and was re-elected to the Twenty-fifth, serving from March 4, 1835, to March 3, 1839. During this service, he chaired the House Foreign Relations Committee for four years.

In 1861, he was one of the emissaries sent by President James Buchanan to try to secure a peace with the Confederacy. That year he unsuccessfully ran for Governor of Maryland. He died in Baltimore and is buried in Greenmount Cemetery.

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Preceded by
John Barney and Peter Little		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 5th congressional district
1829–1833		 Succeeded by
Isaac McKim
Preceded by
James P. Heath		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 4th congressional district
1835–1839		 Succeeded by
James Carroll and Solomon Hillen
Preceded by
Richard Peters		 United States Supreme Court Reporter of Decisions
1843–1861		 Succeeded by
Jeremiah S. Black