Richard Fletcher (January 8, 1788 – June 21, 1869) was a member of 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 ...

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 ...

. The brother of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Ryland Fletcher, he was born in

Cavendish, Vermont Cavendish is a town in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The town was likely named after William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire. The population was 1,392 at the 2020 census. The town of Cavendish includes the unincorporated villages of ...

on January 8, 1788. He pursued classical studies and graduated from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

in 1806. He taught school in Salisbury, New Hampshire, studied law, was admitted to the bar and commenced practice there. He moved to

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 ...

in 1819 and was elected as a Whig to the Twenty-fifth Congress (March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839). Fletcher was not a candidate for renomination to the Twenty-sixth Congress. He served as a judge of the Massachusetts Supreme Court 1848–1853, and died in Boston on June 21, 1869. His interment was in

Mount Auburn Cemetery Mount Auburn Cemetery, located in Cambridge and Watertown, Massachusetts, is the first rural or garden cemetery in the United States. It is the burial site of many prominent Boston Brahmins, and is a National Historic Landmark. Dedicated in ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. Fletcher was elected as the first president of the

American Statistical Association The American Statistical Association (ASA) is the main professional organization for statisticians and related professionals in the United States. It was founded in Boston, Massachusetts, on November 27, 1839, and is the second-oldest continuous ...

, although by the ASA's own admission, he was "little more than a figurehead".

Sources

* Dartmouth College alumni 1788 births 1869 deaths People from Cavendish, Vermont Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Burials at Mount Auburn Cemetery Presidents of the American Statistical Association Whig Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts 19th-century Massachusetts state court judges 19th-century members of the United States House of Representatives {{Massachusetts-state-judge-stub

See also

Sources