David Jewett Baker (September 7, 1792August 6, 1869) was an American politician in the U.S. state of Illinois. He briefly served as a

U.S. Senator 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 powe ...

in 1830.

Early life

Baker was born in East Haddam, Connecticut, the son of Joanna (Minor) and Bayze Baker, and moved with his parents to Ontario County, New York as a child. He attended the common schools and in 1816 he graduated from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York. He studied law and was admitted to the Illinois

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

in 1819. The first place he practiced law was

Kaskaskia, Illinois Kaskaskia is a village in Randolph County, Illinois. Having been inhabited by indigenous peoples, it was settled by France as part of the Illinois Country. It was named for the Kaskaskia people. Its population peaked at about 7,000 in the 18th c ...

Political career

He served in various political positions in Illinois, and was

probate Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...

judge of Randolph County from August 1827 to December 6, 1830 when he resigned to become a Senator. Baker was appointed as a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

to the U.S. Senate to fill the vacancy caused by the death of John McLean and served from November 12, 1830 to December 11, 1830, when a successor was elected and qualified. He thus is one of only a few people who have served in Congress for less than a month. Baker was not a candidate for election in 1830 to fill the vacancy, and was appointed United States Attorney for the district of Illinois in 1833 and served until 1841. He resumed the practice of law, and died in Alton, and was interred in City Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, David 1792 births 1869 deaths People from East Haddam, Connecticut Illinois Democrats Illinois lawyers Illinois state court judges People from Kaskaskia, Illinois Politicians from Alton, Illinois Hamilton College (New York) alumni Democratic Party United States senators from Illinois 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges 19th-century American lawyers