Benjamin Gorham (February 13, 1775 – September 27, 1855) was a

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

Representative from

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. He was the son of

Nathaniel Gorham Nathaniel Gorham (May 27, 1738 – June 11, 1796; sometimes spelled ''Nathanial'') was an American Founding Father, merchant, and politician from Massachusetts. He was a delegate from the Bay Colony to the Continental Congress and for six months ...

, who served as one of the Presidents of the Continental Congress. Benjamin was born in Charlestown in the

Province of Massachusetts Bay The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a colony in New England which became one of the thirteen original states of the United States. It was chartered on October 7, 1691, by William III and Mary II, the joint monarchs of the kingdoms of Eng ...

. He pursued preparatory studies, graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1795, and studied law. When he was admitted to the bar he commenced practice in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. From 1814 to 1818 he served as a member of the

Massachusetts House of Representatives The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into ...

and then turned to the Massachusetts State Senate, where he served from May 26, 1819 until he resigned on January 10, 1821. He was elected as a

Democratic-Republican The Democratic-Republican Party (also referred to by historians as the Republican Party or the Jeffersonian Republican Party), was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the early 1790s. It championed l ...

to the Sixteenth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Jonathan Mason; he was re-elected when the term expired, and served until March 3, 1823. Afterwards he returned to the State senate for one term beginning May 28, 1823, before being elected as an Adams candidate to the Twentieth Congress to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of

Daniel Webster Daniel Webster (January 18, 1782 – October 24, 1852) was an American lawyer and statesman who represented New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the U.S. Congress and served as the 14th and 19th United States Secretary of State, U.S. secretary o ...

and then reelected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-first Congress and served from July 23, 1827, to March 3, 1831. After a term filled by Nathan Appleton, he was elected as an Anti-Jacksonian to the Twenty-third Congress (March 4, 1833 - March 3, 1835). Afterward he served again a member of the State house of representatives in 1841 and resumed the practice of law. He died in Boston in 1855, aged 80, and was interred in the Phipps Street Burying Ground in Charlestown.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gorham, Benjamin 1775 births 1855 deaths Harvard University alumni Massachusetts lawyers Massachusetts state senators Members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Politicians from Boston Massachusetts National Republicans American people of English descent Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts National Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives 19th-century American lawyers Burials at Phipps Street Burying Ground 19th-century members of the Massachusetts General Court 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives