William Alexander Richardson

William Alexander Richardson
United States Senator from Illinois
In office January 12, 1863 – March 3, 1865
Preceded by	Orville H. Browning
Succeeded by	Richard Yates
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Illinois's 5th district
In office December 6, 1847 – August 25, 1856
Preceded by	Stephen A. Douglas
Succeeded by	Jacob C. Davis
In office March 4, 1861 – January 29, 1863
Preceded by	Isaac N. Morris
Succeeded by	Owen Lovejoy
Personal details
Born	(1811-01-16)January 16, 1811 Lexington, Kentucky, US
Died	December 27, 1875(1875-12-27) (aged 64) Quincy, Illinois, US
Political party	Democratic
Alma mater	Centre College Transylvania University
Profession	Politician, Lawyer
Military service
Service/branch	United States Army
Rank	Major
Battles/wars	Mexican-American War

William Alexander Richardson (January 16, 1811 – December 27, 1875) was a prominent Illinois Democrat politician before and during the American Civil War.

Born near Lexington, Kentucky, Richardson attended Transylvania University, and then proceeded to teach school and study law. He passed the bar exam in 1831 and started his practice in Shelbyville, Illinois. He was an attorney for the state from 1834 to 1835, and was elected representative to the state house, serving from 1836 to 1838. He moved over to the state senate from 1838 to 1842, and then back to the house again from 1844 to 1846, briefly serving as speaker in 1844. He was a presidential elector in 1844 for the Democrats.

Richardson enlisted as a captain in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War, and was promoted to the rank of major. After the war, he moved to Quincy, Illinois, and then was elected to the 30th Congress to fill Stephen A. Douglas's seat. He was then reelected to the 31st, 32nd, 33rd, and 34th Congresses for the same seat (1847 to 1856). During his time in the House of Representatives, he was the Chairman of the Committee on Territories (32nd–33rd Congresses). He resigned in August 1856 to run for Governor of Illinois. After being defeated, Richardson then went on to become Governor of the Nebraska Territory for most of 1858.

He was a delegate to 1860 Democratic National Convention from Illinois. He then came back to Washington D.C. as a member of the 37th Congress in 1861. In 1863, he was elected to fill Stephen Douglas's old seat in the United States Senate, defeating incumbent Republican Orville Browning. He was not renominated in 1865 and spent the rest of his life engaged in newspaper work. He died in Quincy, Illinois, where he is buried.

Richardson County, Nebraska is named after him.

References

1. "The Political Graveyard". Richardson, William Alexander. Retrieved January 10, 2006. 
2. "Congressional Bioguide". Richardson, William Alexander. Retrieved January 10, 2006. 

This article incorporates facts obtained from: Lawrence Kestenbaum, The Political Graveyard 

External links

• William Alexander Richardson at Find a Grave
• William Alexander Richardson at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

United States Senators from Illinois Class 2 Thomas McLean Baker Robinson McRoberts Semple S. Douglas Browning Richardson Yates Logan Davis Cullom Lewis McCormick Deneen Lewis Slattery Brooks P. Douglas Percy Simon Durbin Class 3 Edwards McLean Kane Ewing Young Breese Shields Trumbull Oglesby Logan Farwell Palmer Mason Hopkins Lorimer Sherman McKinley Glenn Dieterich Lucas Dirksen Smith Stevenson III Dixon Moseley Braun Fitzgerald Obama Burris Kirk

Governors of Nebraska Territorial (1854–1867) Burt Cuming (acting) Izard Cuming (acting) Richardson Morton (acting) Black Morton (acting) Paddock Saunders State (since 1867) Butler James (acting) Furnas Garber Nance Dawes Thayer Boyd Crounse Holcomb Poynter Dietrich Savage Mickey Sheldon Shallenberger Aldrich Morehead Neville McKelvie Bryan McMullen Weaver Bryan Cochran Griswold Peterson Crosby Anderson Brooks Burney Morrison Tiemann Exon Thone Kerrey Orr Nelson Johanns Heineman Ricketts