| Shelby Moore Cullom | |
|---|---|
| 17th Governor of Illinois | |
| In office 1877–1883 |
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| Preceded by | John L. Beveridge |
| Succeeded by | John M. Hamilton |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 22, 1829 Monticello, Kentucky |
| Died | January 28, 1914 (aged 84) Washington, D.C. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Signature | |
Shelby Moore Cullom (November 22, 1829 – January 28, 1914) was a U.S. political figure, serving in various offices, including the United States House of Representatives, the United States Senate and the 17th Governor of Illinois.
Cullom was born in 1829 in Monticello, Kentucky, and moved to Springfield, Illinois, in 1853. There he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1855. He practiced law in the city with Charles S. Zane, and was elected city attorney in 1855.
Cullom was a member of the Illinois House of Representatives in 1856 and 1860–1861, serving as speaker of the house in 1861.
He was elected as a Republican in 1864 to the Thirty-ninth, and reelected to the Fortieth and Forty-first Congresses (March 4, 1865-March 3, 1871).
Cullom returned to the Illinois House of Representatives 1873-1874, and served as speaker in 1873.
In 1876, he was elected governor of Illinois and served in that office from 1877–1883, when he resigned to take office as a US senator. Cullom was elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1882, and reelected in 1888, 1894, 1900 and 1906, serving from March 4, 1883 to March 3, 1913
As a U.S. senator, Cullom oversaw the passage of the Interstate Commerce Act of 1887. He believed that only the federal government had the power to force railroads to provide fair treatment to all of its customers, large and small. This was because corporations, such as Standard Oil, had corrupted many of the railroad's officials into providing them with rebates, and as whole, the companies in question were more powerful than any state government. Cullom was appointed by President William McKinley in July 1898 to the commission created by the Newlands Resolution to establish government in the Territory of Hawaii.
He died in 1914 in Washington, D.C. and is buried in Oak Ridge Cemetery in Springfield.[1] Cullom was a close personal friend and associate of Jacob Bunn and John Whitfield Bunn, the Illinois industrialist brothers who contributed to the building of hundreds of millions of dollars of business enterprises by 1900.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John T. Stuart |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 8th congressional district 1865–1871 |
Succeeded by James Robinson |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by John Lourie Beveridge |
Governor of Illinois 1877–1883 |
Succeeded by John Marshall Hamilton |
| United States Senate | ||
| Preceded by David Davis |
Class 2 U.S. Senator from Illinois 1883–1913 |
Succeeded by James H. Lewis |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by William P. Frye |
Dean of the United States Senate August 8, 1911–March 3, 1913 |
Succeeded by Jacob Harold Gallinger |
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