Horace Fairbanks (March 21, 1820 – March 17, 1888) was an American politician and the 36th governor of Vermont from 1876 to 1878.

Biography

Fairbanks was born in

Barnet, Vermont Barnet is a town in Caledonia County, Vermont, United States. The population was 1,663 at the 2020 census. Barnet contains the locations of Barnet Center, East Barnet, McIndoe Falls, Mosquitoville, Passumpsic and West Barnet. The main settleme ...

, on March 21, 1820, the third of nine children of

Erastus Fairbanks Erastus Fairbanks (October 28, 1792 – November 20, 1864) was an American manufacturer, a Whig politician, a founder of the Republican Party, and the 21st and 26th governor of Vermont. An industrialist and businessman, he was a co-founder o ...

and Lois (Crossman) Fairbanks. He was educated at schools in Peacham and

Lyndon Lyndon may refer to: Places * Lyndon, Alberta, Canada * Lyndon, Rutland, East Midlands, England * Lyndon, Solihull, West Midlands, England United States * Lyndon, Illinois * Lyndon, Kansas * Lyndon, Kentucky * Lyndon, New York * Lyndon, Ohio * L ...

, Vermont, and

Meriden, New Hampshire Meriden is an unincorporated community in the eastern part of the town of Plainfield in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. It is the location of Kimball Union Academy, a private boarding school. New Hampshire Route 120 passes throu ...

, and completed his education at

Phillips Academy Phillips Academy (also known as PA, Phillips Academy Andover, or simply Andover) is a Private school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational college-preparatory school for Boarding school, boarding and Day school, day students located in ...

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

Career

In 1840, Fairbanks became a confidential clerk at E. & T. Fairbanks & Co. his family's St. Johnsbury business, which became famous as the maker of the first platform scale. He became a partner in 1843 and later became the company's president. Fairbanks was active in several other business ventures, including construction of the Portland and Ogdensburg Railway from

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

Ogdensburg, New York Ogdensburg is a city in St. Lawrence County, New York, United States. The population was 10,064 at the 2020 census. In the late 18th century, European-American settlers named the community after American land owner and developer Samuel Ogden. T ...

. Fairbanks was president of the Vermont division of the railroad and president of the First National Bank of St. Johnsbury. In 1871 Fairbanks presented to St. Johnsbury the St. Johnsbury Athenaeum, which includes a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

and an

art gallery An art gallery is a room or a building in which visual art is displayed. In Western cultures from the mid-15th century, a gallery was any long, narrow covered passage along a wall, first used in the sense of a place for art in the 1590s. The long ...

. He was a trustee of the

University of Vermont The University of Vermont and State Agricultural College, commonly referred to as the University of Vermont (UVM), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Burlington, Vermont, United States. Foun ...

and

. Fairbanks was a delegate to the Republican National Conventions of

1864 Events January * January 13 – American songwriter Stephen Foster ("Oh! Susanna", "Old Folks at Home") dies aged 37 in New York City, leaving a scrap of paper reading "Dear friends and gentle hearts". His parlor song "Beautiful Dream ...

and

1868 Events January * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier, 1st Baron Napier of Magdala, Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsu ...

. In 1868, Fairbanks also one of Vermont's electors. In 1869 he was elected to the

Vermont State Senate The Vermont Senate is the upper house of the Vermont General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Vermont. The senate consists of 30 members elected from multi-member districts. Each senator represents at least 20,300 citizens. ...

; He served one term, but illness prevented him from attending sessions regularly. He was a delegate to the

1872 Republican National Convention The 1872 Republican National Convention was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 5–6, 1872. President Ulysses S. Grant was unanimously nominated for reelection by the convention's 752 delegates. Massachusetts Senator Henry Wilson replace ...

, as well one of Vermont's 1872 presidential electors. Elected

Governor of Vermont The governor of Vermont is the head of government of the U.S. state of Vermont. The officeholder is elected in even-numbered years by direct voting for a term of two years. Vermont and bordering New Hampshire are the only states to hold guberna ...

in 1876, Fairbanks served a two-year term. His term included initiatives such as establishing the state board of agriculture, improvement to conditions in state prisons and county jails, and statewide licensing requirements for medical doctors. Fairbanks died in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

on March 17, 1888. He is interred at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in St. Johnsbury.

Family

Fairbanks married Mary E. Taylor (1824-1901) on August 9, 1840. They were the parents of three children, Helen, Agnes, and Isabel. Fairbanks was the brother of

Franklin Fairbanks Franklin Fairbanks (June 18, 1828 – April 24, 1895) was an American businessman, natural scientist, collector, political figure, and one of the founders and first trustees of Rollins College. Biography The son of Erastus Fairbanks, brother of ...

, who served as Speaker of the Vermont House of Representatives.

References

External links

*
Horace Fairbanks
at The Political Graveyard
Horace Fairbanks
at National Governors Association * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbanks, Horace 1820 births 1888 deaths Phillips Academy alumni Republican Party Vermont state senators Republican Party governors of Vermont People from St. Johnsbury, Vermont Politicians from Caledonia County, Vermont People from Barnet, Vermont 19th-century American philanthropists 19th-century American businesspeople

Horace Quintus Horatius Flaccus (; 8 December 65 BC – 27 November 8 BC), Suetonius, Life of Horace commonly known in the English-speaking world as Horace (), was the leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus (also known as Octavian). Th ...

19th-century members of the Vermont General Assembly