U.S. Senator, U.S. Congressman, U.S. Diplomat. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, he graduated from Cincinnati College in 1841 and then traveled overseas to Germany to attend Heidelberg University. He returned to America, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1847, and practiced as an attorney in Cincinnati. While an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 1854, he was elected to the Ohio State Senate instead. In 1856, he was elected to represent Ohio's 1st District in the United States House of Representatives, he served from 1857 to 1865 as a Peace Democrat and was reelected three times. In 1864 during the Civil War, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Ohio and was also a candidate for Vice-President. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to Congress in 1864 and 1866. During the Presidential Election of 1868, he was the runner up to Horatio Seymour as the Democratic nomination. His campaign suffered because of his support for the Greenback movement. In 1869, he lost the Ohio Governor election to Rutherford B. Hayes and then became the president of the Kentucky Central Railroad Company, a position that he held for ten years. Elected to represent Ohio in the United States Senate, he served from 1879 to 1885. He is best remembered as the author of the Pendleton Civil Service Act, passed in 1883, that established a federal civil service system based on merit rather than patronage. Following his term as Senator, he was appointed by President Ulysses Grant as the United States Ambassador to Germany and served from 1885 until his death in Brussels in 1889. The city of Pendleton, Oregon is named for him. He was the son of Nathaniel Greene Pendleton, a United States Congressman from Ohio. His grandfather, Nathaniel Pendleton, served as an officer on the staff of General George Washington during the Revolutionary War and later as a United States District Court Judge. George Hunt Pendleton was also the son-in-law of Francis Scott Key.
Interred March 1890 (pjacko)
Interred March 1890 (pjacko)
U.S. Senator, U.S. Congressman, U.S. Diplomat. Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, he graduated from Cincinnati College in 1841 and then traveled overseas to Germany to attend Heidelberg University. He returned to America, studied law, was admitted to the bar in 1847, and practiced as an attorney in Cincinnati. While an unsuccessful candidate for Congress in 1854, he was elected to the Ohio State Senate instead. In 1856, he was elected to represent Ohio's 1st District in the United States House of Representatives, he served from 1857 to 1865 as a Peace Democrat and was reelected three times. In 1864 during the Civil War, he was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention from Ohio and was also a candidate for Vice-President. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection to Congress in 1864 and 1866. During the Presidential Election of 1868, he was the runner up to Horatio Seymour as the Democratic nomination. His campaign suffered because of his support for the Greenback movement. In 1869, he lost the Ohio Governor election to Rutherford B. Hayes and then became the president of the Kentucky Central Railroad Company, a position that he held for ten years. Elected to represent Ohio in the United States Senate, he served from 1879 to 1885. He is best remembered as the author of the Pendleton Civil Service Act, passed in 1883, that established a federal civil service system based on merit rather than patronage. Following his term as Senator, he was appointed by President Ulysses Grant as the United States Ambassador to Germany and served from 1885 until his death in Brussels in 1889. The city of Pendleton, Oregon is named for him. He was the son of Nathaniel Greene Pendleton, a United States Congressman from Ohio. His grandfather, Nathaniel Pendleton, served as an officer on the staff of General George Washington during the Revolutionary War and later as a United States District Court Judge. George Hunt Pendleton was also the son-in-law of Francis Scott Key.
Interred March 1890 (pjacko)
Interred March 1890 (pjacko)
Bio by: K Guy
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