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Higher Office(s) Served: Ambassador, Representative

ALBERT G. PORTER, Indiana's nineteenth governor, was born in Lawrenceburg, Indiana, on April 20, 1824. He was educated at Hanover College and DePauw University, graduating from the latter school in 1843. After moving to Greencastle, Indiana in 1843, Porter studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1845. He then established his legal career in Indianapolis, serving as corporation counsel from 1851 to 1853, and as a city council member from 1857 to 1859. He also served as reporter for the Indiana Supreme Court from 1853 to 1857. Porter entered politics in 1859, serving as a member to the U.S. House of Representatives, a position he held until March 3, 1863. In 1878, he secured an appointment as Controller of the U.S. Treasury, where he served until 1880, when he resigned to run for the governorship. He won the 1880 Republican gubernatorial nomination and was elected governor of Indiana. During his tenure, the state board of health was established, hospitals for the insane were planned for Logansport, Evansville, and Richmond, and marshlands and the Kankakee swamp were drained, which added a vast amount of usable acres to the state. After leaving office, Porter was appointed U.S. Minister to Italy, serving from 1889 to 1892. Governor Albert G. Porter, who authored Decisions of the Supreme Court of Indiana (5 vols. 1853-1856), died on May 3, 1897, and was buried at the Crown Hill Cemetery in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Sources:

Sobel, Robert, and John Raimo, eds. Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789-1978, Vol. 1, Westport, Conn.; Meckler Books, 1978. 4 vols.

County History - State of Indiana

Biographical Dictionary of the U.S. Congress

Famous Americans

Indiana Historical Bureau