John Sharpenstein Hager (March 12, 1818March 19, 1890) was an American politician from the state of California. He served in the

U.S. Senate 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 pow ...

from 1873 to 1875.

Life

Hager was born near Morristown, New Jersey, on March 12, 1818. He completed preparatory studies and graduated from the College of New Jersey (later named Princeton University) in 1836. Hager studied law and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

in 1840, practicing in Morristown. In 1849, Hager moved to California and engaged in mining during the California Gold Rush. He practiced law in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

and was a member of the

1849 California Constitutional Convention The California Constitutional Conventions were two separate constitutional conventions that took place in California during the nineteenth century which led to the creation of the modern Constitution of California. The first, known as the 1849 ...

. Hager served in the

California Senate The California State Senate is the upper house of the California State Legislature, the lower house being the California State Assembly. The State Senate convenes, along with the State Assembly, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento. D ...

from 1852 to 1854, before being elected as a state district judge for the district of San Francisco in 1855. Hagar remained a district judge until 1861. In 1865, Hager returned to the state senate, serving until 1871, when he was elected a

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Franci ...

Hager was elected as an Anti-Monopoly

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 resignation of

Eugene Casserly Eugene Casserly (November 13, 1820June 14, 1883) was an Irish-born American journalist, lawyer, and politician. He was the son of scholar Patrick S. Casserly, and he served in the United States Senate from California. Biography Eugene Casserl ...

and served from December 23, 1873, to March 4, 1875. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1874. In 1879, Hager was a member of the state constitutional convention. He was collector of customs of the

port of San Francisco The Port of San Francisco is a semi-independent organization that oversees the port facilities at San Francisco, California, United States. It is run by a five-member commission, appointed by the Mayor and approved by the Board of Supervisors. Th ...

from 1885 to 1889. Hager died in San Francisco on March 19, 1890, one week after his 72nd birthday, and was interred at

Bellefontaine Cemetery Bellefontaine Cemetery is a nonprofit, non-denominational cemetery and arboretum in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1849 as a rural cemetery, Bellefontaine is home to a number of architecturally significant monuments and mausoleums such as t ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

References

* 1818 births 1890 deaths People from Morristown, New Jersey Princeton University alumni Democratic Party United States senators from California Democratic Party California state senators 19th-century American politicians {{California-CASenate-stub