Gideon Tomlinson | |
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| United States Senator fromConnecticut | |
| In office March 4, 1831 – March 3, 1837 | |
| Preceded by | Calvin Willey |
| Succeeded by | Perry Smith |
| 25th Governor of Connecticut | |
| In office May 2, 1827 – March 2, 1831 | |
| Lieutenant | John Samuel Peters |
| Preceded by | Oliver Wolcott Jr. |
| Succeeded by | John Samuel Peters |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromConnecticut'sat-large district | |
| In office March 4, 1819 – March 3, 1827 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Scott Williams |
| Succeeded by | David Plant |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1780-12-31)December 31, 1780 |
| Died | October 8, 1854(1854-10-08) (aged 73) |
| Party | Toleration (1817–1827) Democratic-Republican (1827–1828) National Republican (1828–1834) Whig (1834–1854)[1] |
| Spouse(s) | Sarah Bradley Tomlinson, Lydia Ann Wells Wright Tomlinson |
| Children | Jabez Huntington Tomlinson |
| Alma mater | Yale College |
| Profession | lawyer, politician |
Gideon Tomlinson (December 31, 1780 – October 8, 1854) was aUnited States senator,United States Representative, and the25th Governor for the state ofConnecticut.
Born inStratford,[2] Tomlinson completed preparatory studies and graduated fromYale College in 1802.[3] He went to Virginia for a year to be a private tutor and to study law. When he returned toFairfield he continued his studies and was admitted to the bar in 1807. That same year he married Sarah Bradley. He received a Master of Arts, in 1808 fromYale. Their only child, Jabez Huntington Tomlinson, was born in 1818 but died at the young age of 19 in 1838. Mrs. Tomlinson died in 1842. In 1846, Gideon married Mrs. Lydia Ann Wells Wright, widow of William Wright of Bridgeport, Connecticut.[4]
Tomlinson entered politics in 1817, as clerk of theConnecticut House of Representatives, and was reelected again in 1818, when he served as speaker. He was Delegate to the State Constitutional Convention in 1818.
Elected to the Sixteenth and to the three succeeding United States Congresses, Tomlinson served as a Representative from March 4, 1819 to March 3, 1827, and was chairman of the Committee on Commerce (Nineteenth Congress).[5]
Winning the 1827 gubernatorial nomination, Tomlinson was elected Connecticut's eighth governor. He was reelected to the governor's office in1828,1829, and1830. During his tenure, prison reform was accomplished in 1827 with the opening of a more civilized penitentiary. His administration advocated educational improvements and fiscal support to the public school system. On March 2, 1831, Tomlinson resigned from office to accept an appointment to the U.S. Senate.[6]
Tomlinson served in the United States Senate and served from March 4, 1831, to March 3, 1837. There, he served as chairman of the Committee on Pensions (Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth Congresses).[5] In 1837, he left the Senate and became the first President of the newly charteredHousatonic Railroad Company.
He was a trustee ofTrinity College, then retired to private life.
Tomlinson died inFairfield on October 8, 1854.[7] He is interred at the Old Congregational Cemetery,Stratford, Connecticut. The Tomlinson Bridge (built 1796-98) of Fair Haven (part of New Haven)Connecticut is named after him. The Tomlinson Middle School inFairfield is named in his honor.
| Party political offices | ||
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| First | National Republican nominee forGovernor of Connecticut 1828,1829,1830 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Whig nominee forGovernor of Connecticut 1836 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromConnecticut's at-large congressional district 1819–1827 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor of Connecticut 1827–1831 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| Preceded by | U.S. senator (Class 3) from Connecticut 1831–1837 Served alongside:Samuel A. Foote,Nathan Smith,John M. Niles | Succeeded by |
| Class 1 |  | |
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| Class 3 | ||
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
