George Badger
United States Senator fromNorth Carolina
In office November 25, 1846 – March 3, 1855
Preceded by	William Haywood
Succeeded by	Asa Biggs
12thUnited States Secretary of the Navy
In office March 6, 1841 – September 11, 1841
President	William Henry Harrison John Tyler
Preceded by	James Paulding
Succeeded by	Abel Upshur
Personal details
Born	(1795-04-17)April 17, 1795 New Bern,North Carolina,U.S.
Died	May 11, 1866(1866-05-11) (aged 71) Raleigh,North Carolina,U.S.
Political party	Federalist Whig
Spouse(s)	Rebecca Turner (1818–1824) Mary Brown Polk (1808–1835) Delia Haywood Williams (1836–1866)
Education	Yale University

George Edmund Badger (April 17, 1795 – May 11, 1866) was an American politician who served as aWhigU.S. senator from the state ofNorth Carolina.

Badger was born on April 17, 1795, inNew Bern, North Carolina. He attendedYale College (where he was a member ofBrothers in Unity) and received a partial college education that was terminated due to lack of funds; afterwards, he studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1814.

Badger practiced law inNorth Carolina, was active in state politics, and served as a statesuperior court judge. A supporter ofAndrew Jackson from the 1820s, he separated with him in the mid-1830s, became a leader of the Whig party and helped carry the Whigs to victory in the 1840 Presidential election.

Upon taking office, PresidentWilliam Henry Harrison appointed Badger as hisSecretary of the Navy, and he continued in that post for a few months (until September 1841, when he resigned to resume private practice) whenJohn Tyler succeeded to the Presidency upon Harrison's death (April 1841). Badger's brief term as Secretary was marked by efforts to strengthen the Navy in the face of tension with Great Britain, the establishment of the U.S.Home Squadron, and growing interest in steamships.

Badger resigned in September 1841, during a general cabinet shakeup. The resignation of several cabinet members, including Badger, resulted from Tyler's vetoing of two bills to create a new national bank, which the Whig party, led byHenry Clay, supported. Badger was elected to theU.S. Senate in 1846 to fill the unexpired term ofWilliam Henry Haywood, Jr. and remained in office until 1855, after choosing not to run for re-election. While in the Senate, he supported theCompromise of 1850.

He was nominated by PresidentMillard Fillmore as anAssociate justice of the Supreme Court on January 3, 1853, to succeedJohn McKinley. On February 11, 1853, the Senate voted to table a nomination, and the president withdrew it three days later.^[1][2]

Badger's wealth grew throughout his political career; by 1860, he was worth an estimated $145,000 (~$4.12 million in 2024). He was a slave owner, enslaving twenty people.^[3][4] He was a Unionist during the secession crisis but thereafter supported theConfederate war effort.

Badger died inRaleigh, North Carolina, in 1866.

Two Navy ships have been named in honor of Senator Badger:USSGeorge E. Badger (DD-196), andUSSBadger (FF-1071). ALiberty ship, theSS George E. Badger, also was named in his honor. Badger was a cousin of naval officersOscar C. Badger,Charles J. Badger andOscar C. Badger II.

•  This article incorporatespublic domain material fromBiographical Directory of the United States Congress.Federal government of the United States.
•  This article incorporatespublic domain material from websites or documents of theNaval History and Heritage Command.

• United States Congress."George Edmund Badger (id: B000022)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
•  Johnson, Rossiter, ed. (1906). "Badger, George Edmund".The Biographical Dictionary of America. Vol. 1. Boston: American Biographical Society. pp. 179–180.
• George Edmund Badger entry atThe Political Graveyard
• George Edmund Badger atFind a Grave
• George E. Badger atNaval Historical Center

• 1795 births
• 1866 deaths
• Politicians from New Bern, North Carolina
• American people of English descent
• United States secretaries of the navy
• William Henry Harrison administration cabinet members
• Tyler administration cabinet members
• Whig Party United States senators from North Carolina
• North Carolina Whigs
• Members of the North Carolina House of Representatives
• Unsuccessful nominees to the United States Supreme Court
• North Carolina state court judges
• North Carolina lawyers
• Yale College alumni
• 19th-century United States senators
• 19th-century members of the North Carolina General Assembly

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from December 2018
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Wikipedia articles incorporating text from the Naval History & Heritage Command
• Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from The BDA (1906)
• Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from The BDA (1906) with Wikisource reference