John Henry Light (1855–1947) was a

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Attorney General for the state of

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

and

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an equal number of districts, with ...

Early life

Light was born in

Carmel, New York Carmel (pronounced ) is a town in Putnam County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the town had a population of 33,576. The town may have been named after Mount Carmel in Israel. The Town of Carmel is on the souther ...

in 1855, to Belden Light and Ann (Keenan) Light. He moved with his parents to

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bound ...

at a young age, and his first job was at a

tannery Tanning may refer to: *Tanning (leather), treating animal skins to produce leather *Sun tanning, using the sun to darken pale skin **Indoor tanning, the use of artificial light in place of the sun **Sunless tanning, application of a stain or dye t ...

, where he earned money to fund his education. He married Ida M. Lockwood on August 3, 1881. Light graduated from Chamberlain Institute and Female College in New York (an early coeducational institution). Light was a schoolteacher while being instructed in the law. He passed the Connecticut

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associ ...

in 1883 and commenced a practice in Light settled in

South Norwalk, Connecticut South Norwalk is a neighborhood in Norwalk, Connecticut which corresponds to the city's Second Taxing District. Often referred to as SoNo, the neighborhood was originally settled as Old Well, then chartered as the city of South Norwalk on Augus ...

, now part of Norwalk.

Political career

He served as

Fairfield County Fairfield County is the name of three counties in the United States: * Fairfield County, Connecticut * Fairfield County, Ohio Fairfield County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 158,921. ...

Treasurer from 1899 to 1906. He also served for two terms in the

, from 1899 and 1901, serving as

speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

in 1901. Light served as a Connecticut common pleas court judge from 1901 to 1905. On September 15, 1910,

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Frank B. Weeks appointed him

Connecticut Attorney General The Connecticut Attorney General is the state attorney general of Connecticut. The Attorney General is elected to a four-year term. According to state statute, eligibility for the office requires being "an attorney at law of at least ten years' ...

to fill the unexpired term of

Marcus H. Holcomb Marcus H. Holcomb (November 28, 1844 – March 5, 1932) was an American politician who served as the 66th governor of Connecticut, the attorney general of Connecticut, and as a member of the Connecticut Senate. Biography Holcomb was born in Ne ...

. Elected to a four-year term in November 1910, he served as Attorney General until 1915. Light was a Congregationalist. He was a Freemason and a member of the Knights Templar,

Shriners Shriners International, formally known as the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (AAONMS), is an American Masonic society established in 1870 and is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. Shriners International describes itself ...

, and Odd Fellows. Light was also a student of the classics noted for his extensive

private library A private library is a library that is privately owned. Private libraries are usually intended for the use of a small number of people, or even a single person. As with public libraries, some people use bookplates – stamps, stickers or ...

References

External links

Profile
from

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations o ...

Profile
from the Connecticut Attorney General's Office {{DEFAULTSORT:Light, John H. 1855 births 1947 deaths Connecticut lawyers Republican Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Connecticut Attorneys General People from Carmel, New York People from New Canaan, Connecticut Politicians from Norwalk, Connecticut Speakers of the Connecticut House of Representatives