Ransom Williams Dunham (March 21, 1838 – August 19, 1896) was an American businessman and politician from

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. A Republican, from 1883 to 1889 he served as a

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...

from

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. He also served on the

Chicago Board of Trade The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), is an American futures exchange, futures and options exchange that was founded in 1848. On July 12, 2007, the CBOT merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) to form CME Group. CBOT and three other excha ...

, including as its president.

Early life, education, and career

Dunham was born in

Savoy, Massachusetts Savoy is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 645 at the 2020 census. History Savoy began its existence within the Massachus ...

on March 21, 1838. He attended the local schools and the high school in Springfield. After completing his education, Dunham worked as a clerk for the

MassMutual The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company, also known as MassMutual, is a Springfield, Massachusetts-based life insurance company. MassMutual provides financial products such as life insurance, disability income insurance, long term car ...

life insurance company from 1855 to 1857.

Chicago mercantile career and Chicago Board of Trade

In 1857, Dunham moved to

, where he became a grain and provision merchant. In 1880 he served as the

's second vice-president. In 1881, he served as its first vice-president. In 1882, he served an elected term as its president. During his presidency of the board, the cornerstone was laid for a new building for the board, construction of which was ultimately completed in 1885.

U.S. House of Representatives

In 1882 Dunham was elected to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

as a Republican. He was reelected in 1884 and 1886, and served in the 48th, 49th, and

50th United States Congress The 50th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, consisting of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1887 ...

(March 4, 1883 to March 3, 1889). He represented

Illinois's 1st congressional district Illinois's first congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of Illinois. Based in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County, the district includes much of the South Side of Chicago and continues southwest to Joliet, Illinois, ...

Later life and death

After leaving Congress, Dunham retired from politics and business. He died in

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is the most populous city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, and its county seat. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ea ...

on August 19, 1896, while en route to attend Savoy's centennial celebration. He was buried at Mount Hope Cemetery in Chicago.

References

External links

1838 births 1896 deaths Politicians from Chicago Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Illinois Chicago Board of Trade 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{Illinois-Representative-stub