John Thornton (Louisiana)

John Randolph Thornton


United States Senator from Louisiana
In office December 7, 1910 – March 4, 1915
Appointed by	Jared Y. Sanders Sr., August 27, 1910
Preceded by	Samuel D. McEnery
Succeeded by	Robert F. Broussard

Personal details
Born	(1846-08-25)August 25, 1846 Iberville Parish, Louisiana, U.S.
Died	December 28, 1917(1917-12-28) (aged 71) Alexandria, Louisiana, U.S.
Political party	Democratic

John Randolph Thornton (August 25, 1846 – December 28, 1917) was a United States Senator from Louisiana.

Biography

Born on Notoway plantation (near White Castle, Iberville Parish), he moved with his parents to Rapides Parish in 1853. He attended Parker Seminary (Pineville), the McGruder Institute (Baton Rouge) and the Louisiana Seminary (afterwards the Louisiana State University) at Pineville until 1863. He enlisted in the Confederate States Army and served until the close of the Civil War in Company B, Second Louisiana Cavalry.

He engaged in agricultural pursuits until 1877, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1877 and commenced practice in Rapides Parish. He was judge of Rapides Parish from 1878 to 1880 and a delegate to the State constitutional convention in 1898. From 1904 to 1910 he was a member of the board of Supervisors of the State university.

Thornton was appointed as a Democrat to the U.S. Senate on August 27, 1910, and was subsequently elected to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Samuel D. McEnery, serving from December 7, 1910, to March 4, 1915; he was not a candidate for reelection to the Senate. While in the Senate he was chairman of the Committee on Fisheries (Sixty-third Congress). He was appointed by President Woodrow Wilson a member of the Board of Ordnance and Fortification and served from 1915 to 1917, and resumed the practice of law in Alexandria, Louisiana; he died there in 1917. Interment was in Rapides Cemetery, Pineville.

References

United States Congress. "John Thornton (id: T000241)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. Retrieved on 2008-02-14
"John Thornton". Find a Grave. Retrieved 2008-02-14.

U.S. Senate
Preceded by Samuel D. McEnery	U.S. Senator (Class 3) from Louisiana December 7, 1910 – March 3, 1915 Served alongside: Murphy J. Foster, Joseph E. Ransdell	Succeeded by Robert F. Broussard

United States Senators from Louisiana
Class 2	Destréhan Posey Brown Claiborne Johnson Bouligny Livingston Waggaman Nicholas Barrow Soulé Downs Benjamin Harris West Kellogg Gibson Caffery Foster Ransdell H. Long R. M. Long Ellender Edwards J. B. Johnston Landrieu Cassidy
Class 3	Magruder Fromentin Brown J. S. Johnston Porter Mouton Conrad Porter Johnson Soulé Slidell Kellogg Eustis Jonas Eustis White Blanchard McEnery Thornton R. Broussard Guion Gay E. Broussard Overton Feazel R. B. Long Breaux Vitter Kennedy

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.