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Hugh Legaré | |
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| ActingUnited States Secretary of State | |
| In office May 9, 1843 – June 20, 1843 | |
| President | John Tyler |
| Preceded by | Daniel Webster |
| Succeeded by | William S. Derrick(ad interim) |
| 16th United States Attorney General | |
| In office September 13, 1841 – June 20, 1843 | |
| President | John Tyler |
| Preceded by | John J. Crittenden |
| Succeeded by | John Nelson |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's1st district | |
| In office March 4, 1837 – March 3, 1839 | |
| Preceded by | Henry L. Pinckney |
| Succeeded by | Isaac E. Holmes |
| ActingUnited States Minister to Belgium Chargé d'Affaires | |
| In office September 25, 1832 – June 9, 1836 | |
| President | Andrew Jackson |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Virgil Maxcy |
| 7thAttorney General of South Carolina | |
| In office November 27, 1830 – November 29, 1832 | |
| Governor | James Hamilton Jr. |
| Preceded by | James L. Petigru |
| Succeeded by | Robert Barnwell Rhett |
| Member of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives | |
| In office 1824-1830 | |
| In office 1820-1821 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Hugh Swinton Legaré (1797-01-02)January 2, 1797 |
| Died | June 20, 1843(1843-06-20) (aged 46) Boston,Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Relatives | James Matthews Legaré (cousin) |
| Education | University of South Carolina, Columbia (BA) |
Hugh Swinton Legaré (/lɪˈɡriː/lih-GREE; January 2, 1797 – June 20, 1843) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician fromSouth Carolina who served as the 16thUnited States Attorney General under PresidentJohn Tyler.
Legaré served asAttorney General of South Carolina from 1830 to 1832 before PresidentAndrew Jackson appointed him as the acting minister to the newKingdom of Belgium. On his return to the United States, he was elected to representCharleston in theUnited States House of Representatives but lost re-election toIsaac E. Holmes.
Following the 1841 death of PresidentWilliam Henry Harrison and the resignation ofWhigs from the cabinet, Legaré was namedUnited States Attorney General byJohn Tyler. He served as Attorney General until his death in office on June 20, 1843. For the final month of his life, Legaré also served asUnited States Secretary of Statead interim following the resignation ofDaniel Webster.
Legaré was born inCharleston, South Carolina, ofHuguenot andScottish ancestry.
Partly due to his inability to share in the amusements of his fellows, as a result of a vaccine-related deformity suffered before he was five that permanently stunted the growth and development of his legs; Legaré was an eager student and was president of theClariosophic Society at theCollege of South Carolina (nowUniversity of South Carolina at Columbia), from which he graduated in 1814 with the highest rank in his class and with a reputation for scholarship and eloquence.[1]
After graduation, he studied the law for three years, did advanced work inParis andEdinburgh in 1818 and 1819 and in 1822 was admitted to the South Carolina bar.
After practicing for a time in Charleston, he became a member of theSouth Carolina House of Representatives, serving between 1820 and 1821 and then again between 1824 and 1830. He also founded and edited theSouthern Review between 1828 and 1832.
From 1830 until 1832 he was theAttorney General of South Carolina, and he supportedstates' rights, he strongly opposednullification. He was Attorney General until he was appointedchargé d'affaires toBrussels in 1832, serving there until 1836.[1] In 1838, he was elected as a member to theAmerican Philosophical Society.[2]
On his return he was elected to the25th Congress as aDemocrat, but failed in a re-election bid the following term. In 1841PresidentJohn Tyler named himAttorney General of the United States and he served in that office until his death. He also served asSecretary of State ad interim from May 8, 1843, until his death.
He died inBoston while attending ceremonies for the unveiling of theBunker Hill Monument. He died, by "internal strangulation..the twisting of the intestine upon itself."[3] He was first interred inMount Auburn Cemetery inCambridge, Massachusetts, and was later re-interred inMagnolia Cemetery in Charleston. TheUSCGC Legare, which is amedium endurance cutter, was named in his honor.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Legaré, Hugh Swinton".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 16 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 373–374.
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by | U.S. Attorney General Served under:John Tyler 1841–1843 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromSouth Carolina's 1st congressional district 1837–1839 | Succeeded by |
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| Preceded by Position established | U.S. Chargé d'Affaires to Belgium 1832–1836 | Succeeded by |
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