William Claflin

William Claflin
27th Governor of Massachusetts
In office January 7, 1869 – January 4, 1872
Lieutenant	Joseph Tucker
Preceded by	Alexander H. Bullock
Succeeded by	William B. Washburn
27th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts
In office 1866–1869
Governor	Alexander H. Bullock
Preceded by	Joel Hayden
Succeeded by	Joseph Tucker
4th Chairman of the Republican National Committee
In office 1868–1872
Preceded by	Marcus L. Ward
Succeeded by	Edwin D. Morgan
Born	March 6, 1818 Milford, Massachusetts
Died	January 5, 1905 (aged 86) Newton, Massachusetts
Political party	Republican

William Claflin (March 6, 1818 – January 5, 1905) was an industrialist and philanthropist who served as the 27th Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts from 1869–1872 and as a member of the United States Congress from 1877–1881.

Claflin was born in 1818 in Milford, Massachusetts. After some education at Brown University, Claflin returned to his father Lee Claflin's shoe manufacturing company. He opened his own boot and shoe manufacturing firm in St. Louis, but became a partner in the family's Massachusetts business five years later.

Claflin had a significant political career in Massachusetts. He was a founder of the Free Soil Party, served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1849–1853, and was elected to the Senate in 1859. By this time he had switched to the United States Republican Party and later served on its national committee. He became Senate President in 1861. After serving as Lieutenant Governor for Alexander Hamilton Bullock, Claflin was elected to the Governor's office in 1868.

While Governor, Claflin promoted women's suffrage and extended women greater rights under the law. During his administration, he advocated prison reform and established the state's first board of public health. Claflin also created the Massachusetts Indian Commission with social activists Wendell Phillips and Helen Hunt Jackson. In 1869, Claflin chartered Boston University, a Methodist institution, which his father co-founded. He served for three terms, each one year in length, but declined to run for a fourth.

Claflin returned to business and supported philanthropic activities. Along with his father, Claflin donated funds to purchase land for Claflin University, the historically black, Methodist university in South Carolina. The University was founded in 1869. Elected as a Republican, he later served two terms as a member of the Forty-fifth and Forty-sixth Congresses (from March 4, 1877 to March 3, 1881). He died in 1905 in Newton, Massachusetts.

External links

• Official Commonwealth of Massachusetts Governor Biography
• US Congressional Biography - William Claflin
• William Claflin at Find a Grave

Political offices
Preceded by Joel Hayden	Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts 1866–1869	Succeeded by Joseph Tucker
Preceded by Alexander H. Bullock	Governor of Massachusetts January 7, 1869 – January 4, 1872	Succeeded by William B. Washburn
Party political offices
Preceded by Marcus L. Ward	Chairman of the Republican National Committee 1868-1872	Succeeded by Edwin D. Morgan