Thomas Andrew Osborn (October 26, 1836 – February 4, 1898) was an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat. He served as the sixth

governor of Kansas A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

, from 1873 to 1877.

Biography

Osborn was born in

Meadville, Pennsylvania Meadville is a city in Crawford County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. The population was 13,050 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The first permanent settlement in Northwestern Pennsylvania, Meadville is withi ...

. As a young man, he was apprenticed as a

printer Printer may refer to: Technology * Printer (publishing), a person * Printer (computing), a hardware device * Optical printer for motion picture films People * Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist * James Printer (1640 ...

, from which he supported himself through

Allegheny College Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college in Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1815, Allegheny is the oldest college in continuous existence under the same name west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is a member of the G ...

. In 1856, he began to study law under a Meadville judge and was admitted to the Michigan bar in 1857. He married Julia Delahey and they had one child. In November 1857, Osborn moved to

Lawrence, Kansas Lawrence is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Kansas, United States, and the sixth-largest city in the state. It is in the northeastern sector of the state, astride Interstate 70 in Kansas, Interstate 70, between the Kansas River ...

, where he became a compositor for the ''Herald of Freedom''. The following year, Osborn was practicing law in

Elwood, Kansas Elwood is a city in Doniphan County, Kansas, United States, located west across the Missouri River from Saint Joseph, Missouri. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,125. History For millennia the Great Plains of North Am ...

, and was known to be a Republican and Free-State supporter. He was elected to the state senate in December 1859. He became president of the senate in 1861 and presided over impeachment proceedings of the governor. Osborn was appointed U. S. Marshall and held that post from 1865 to 1867. Osborn was

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

from 1873 to 1877, having been first elected in 1872 and then re-elected in 1874. Subsequently, he was appointed as Minister to Chile, serving from 1877 to 1881, and as Minister to Brazil, serving from 1881 to 1885. In 1892, he was put forth as a primary challenger to Kanza Indian, and attorney,

Charles Curtis Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) was the 31st vice president of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under President Herbert Hoover. He was the Senate Majority Leader from 1924 to 1929. An enrolled member of the Kaw Natio ...

, who later became Vice President of the United States. Osborn's wife died in 1892. In 1898, he was engaged to Marguerite Fowler Richmond of

. While awaiting their wedding, Osborn died and his body was returned to Kansas. He is buried in

Topeka Cemetery The Topeka Cemetery is a cemetery in Topeka, Kansas, United States. Established in 1859, it is the oldest chartered cemetery in the state of Kansas. The 80-acre cemetery had more than 35,000 burials by 2019, including several prominent Kansans. ...

Topeka Topeka ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County, Kansas, Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeaste ...

, Kansas.

References

External links

*
Publications concerning Kansas Governor Osborn's administration available via the KGI Online Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osborn, Thomas A. 1836 births 1898 deaths People from Doniphan County, Kansas Politicians from Lawrence, Kansas People from Meadville, Pennsylvania Republican Party governors of Kansas Lieutenant governors of Kansas 19th-century American diplomats Ambassadors of the United States to Chile Ambassadors of the United States to Brazil Methodists from Kansas 19th-century Kansas politicians Burials at Topeka Cemetery Methodists from Pennsylvania Kansas lawyers Michigan lawyers