Milton Latham

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"Senator Latham" redirects here. For the North Carolina state senate member, see Louis C. Latham.
Milton Latham
United States Senator
from California
In office
March 5, 1860 – March 3, 1863
Preceded byHenry P. Haun
Succeeded byJohn Conness
6th Governor of California
In office
January 9, 1860 – January 14, 1860
LieutenantJohn G. Downey
Preceded byJohn B. Weller
Succeeded byJohn G. Downey
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's at-large district
In office
March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855
Preceded byEdward C. Marshall
Succeeded byJames W. Denver
Personal details
Born(1827-05-23)May 23, 1827
Lecompton Democrat
SpouseSophie Birdsall
Alma materJefferson College
ProfessionLawyer, politician, teacher

Milton Slocum Latham (May 23, 1827 – March 4, 1882) was an American politician, who served as the

Lecompton Democrat
, Latham resigned from office (the second governor to do so) after being elected by the state legislature to a seat in the U.S. Senate.

Biography

Born in

Gold Rush
.

In San Francisco, Latham continued in law, becoming a recording clerk for the county, and in 1851, the

U.S. House of Representatives. After the completion of his two-year term, Latham declined to run for another term and returned to California
to again practice law, despite being renominated by state Democrats.

Only a year after returning to

U.S. Customs Collector for the Port of San Francisco by President Franklin Pierce
, a post the former congressman protested initially, but reluctantly later accepted. Latham held the post until 1857.

Since the beginning of the 1850s, issues regarding

American Party both in state and federal politics. In particular, state voters voted Know-Nothings into the California State Legislature, and elected J. Neely Johnson
as governor in the 1855 general elections.

During the 1859 general elections, Lecompton Democrats voted Latham, who had briefly lived in the

Republican Party, running in its first gubernatorial election, selected businessman Leland Stanford as its nominee. To make matters more complicated, during the campaign, Senator David C. Broderick, an Anti-Lecompton Democrat, was killed in a duel by slavery supporter and former state Supreme Court Justice David Terry on September 13.[2]

Despite the party split and Republican entrance to the campaign, Latham won the election, garnering sixty percent of the vote.

Governor

Milton Latham's official portrait in the California State Capitol

Latham was inaugurated on January 9, 1860. In his inauguration speech, the new governor outlined his main priority as solving the state's creeping

checked by the legislature and courts.[3]

However, only hours into his term, Latham's desire for political advancement were quickly known. Within days, Latham had proposed to the

resigned. Latham had become the second California Governor to resign from office.[5]

Latham's five-day tenure as governor remains the shortest in California history. His record for the shortest tenure of any California constitutional officer held until Republican

California State Board of Equalization.[6][7]

Post governorship

Latham travelled to

Unionist Republicans, who now controlled the State Legislature. Latham lost his bid for a second Senate term to Republican John Conness, himself a former Anti-Lecompton Democrat.[8]

Following his defeat, Latham traveled to Europe, joining the London and San Francisco Bank Ltd (now MUFG Union Bank), where he became the bank's San Francisco chief. Throughout the late 1860s and into the 1870s, Latham helped finance the California Pacific and the North Pacific Coast Railroad, earning recognition as one of California's rail barons.

In 1872, Latham bought and began renovating a 50-room Menlo Park mansion, Thurlow Lodge as a gift to his bride, only for the estate to burn down before completion. Nevertheless, it was entirely rebuilt in 1873. In 1874, Latham commissioned Carleton Watkins to photograph the huge estate and produce two presentation albums of mammoth plate prints.

Latham later moved to

Laurel Hill Cemetery in San Francisco (now the site of the Lone Mountain campus of the University of San Francisco), and later re-interred at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in 1940.[9]

References

  1. ^ Dissertation at UCLA
  2. ^ "Election History for the state of California". JoinCalifornia. 7 September 1859. Retrieved 2007-05-21.
  3. ^ Milton Latham (9 January 1860). "Governor Milton Latham Inaugural Address". State of California. Archived from the original on 22 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  4. ^ California State Library. "Governor Milton Latham of California". State of California. Archived from the original on 2007-06-13. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  5. ^ "11 January 1860, Elected by Legislature Election". JoinCalifornia. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  6. ^ "Sean Wallentine". JoinCalifornia Election Archive.
  7. ^ "Wallentine in at BOE". JoinCalifornia Election Archive.
  8. ^ "1 February 1863 Elected by Legislature Election". JoinCalifornia. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
  9. ^ "Sophie Latham". The Governor's Gallery. California State Library. Retrieved November 13, 2019.

Further reading

External links

Party political offices
First
Lecompton Democratic nominee for Governor of California
1859
 Succeeded by
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from California's at-large congressional district
March 4, 1853 – March 3, 1855 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by Governor of California
January 9, 1860 – January 14, 1860 		Succeeded by
U.S. Senate
Preceded by U.S. senator (Class 1) from California
March 5, 1860 – March 3, 1863
Served alongside: William M. Gwin, James A. McDougall 		Succeeded by
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