John D. White (February 14, 1802 – September 22, 1845) was a prominent U.S. politician during the 1840s. White was a native of

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

and practiced law there. White was elected to the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

in 1832. He served as the

speaker of the United States House of Representatives The speaker of the United States House of Representatives, commonly known as the speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The office was established in 1789 by Article I, Section 2 of the ...

from 1841 to 1843, and was a member of the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...

from 1835 to 1845. On April 23, 1844, White was involved in a physical confrontation on the House floor with Democratic Congressman George O. Rathbun of New York. White was delivering a speech in defense of Senator

Henry Clay Henry Clay Sr. (April 12, 1777June 29, 1852) was an American attorney and statesman who represented Kentucky in both the United States Senate, U.S. Senate and United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives. He was the seven ...

, the Whig nominee for

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

in that year's

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

, and objected to a ruling from the Speaker denying him time to conclude his remarks. When Rathbun told White to be quiet, White confronted him and their disagreement lead to a fistfight between the two with dozens of their colleagues rushing to break up the fight. During the disturbance, an unknown visitor fired a pistol into the crowd, wounding a police officer. Both White and Rathbun subsequently apologized for their actions. White was appointed judge of the nineteenth judicial district of Kentucky and served in that capacity from February 8, 1845, until his death in Richmond, Kentucky on September 22, 1845. White's 1st cousin,

Addison White Addison White (May 1, 1824 – February 4, 1909) was an American politician who served the state of Kentucky in the United States House of Representatives between 1851 and 1853. Biography Addison White was born in Abingdon, Washington Co ...

, was a congressman from Kentucky at the same time representing the 6th District. Their shared nephew, John D. White, would also go on to represent Kentucky's 9th district in the late 1870s while their niece

Laura Rogers White Laura Rogers White (December 11, 1852 – ) was the first woman to graduate from the University of Michigan with a bachelor of science degree. She studied to be an architect but largely did not practice due to family obligations and lack of op ...

was one of the first 8 women to graduate from

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in 1874. He was also a cousin removed of Hugh Lawson White, and Brigadier General James White. John White died by suicide on September 22, 1845, after it was discovered he had plagiarized one of the last speeches he gave in office from

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805. Burr's legacy is defined by his famous personal conflict with Alexand ...

. White is buried in the

Frankfort Cemetery The Frankfort Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located on East Main Street in Frankfort, Kentucky. The cemetery is the burial site of Daniel Boone and contains the graves of other famous Americans including seventeen Kentucky governors and a ...

Frankfort, Kentucky Frankfort is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, United States, and the seat of Franklin County. It is a home rule-class city; the population was 28,602 at the 2020 census. Located along the Kentucky River, Frankfort is the pr ...

References

Biographical Directory of the United States Congress: WHITE, John
* Speakers of the United States House of Representatives Members of the Kentucky House of Representatives Kentucky state court judges 1802 births 1845 deaths Burials at Frankfort Cemetery Kentucky Whigs Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky 19th-century American politicians 19th-century American judges {{Kentucky-politician-stub