John Langdon | |
|---|---|
 Portrait byHattie Elizabeth Burdette, 1916. | |
| 3rdGovernor of New Hampshire | |
| In office June 5, 1810 – June 5, 1812 | |
| Preceded by | Jeremiah Smith |
| Succeeded by | William Plumer |
| In office June 6, 1805 – June 8, 1809 | |
| Preceded by | John Taylor Gilman |
| Succeeded by | Jeremiah Smith |
| 2ndPresident of New Hampshire | |
| In office June 4, 1788 – January 22, 1789 | |
| Preceded by | John Sullivan |
| Succeeded by | John Sullivan |
| In office June 1, 1785 – June 7, 1786 | |
| Preceded by | Meshech Weare |
| Succeeded by | John Sullivan |
| President pro tempore of the United States Senate | |
| In office November 5, 1792 – December 2, 1793 | |
| Preceded by | Richard Henry Lee |
| Succeeded by | Ralph Izard |
| In office April 6, 1789 – August 9, 1789 | |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Richard Henry Lee |
| United States Senator fromNew Hampshire | |
| In office March 4, 1789 – March 3, 1801 | |
| Preceded by | Seat established |
| Succeeded by | James Sheafe |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1741-06-26)June 26, 1741 |
| Died | September 18, 1819(1819-09-18) (aged 78) Portsmouth,New Hampshire, U.S. |
| Party | Pro-Administration Anti-Administration Democratic-Republican |
| Signature |  |
John Langdon Jr. (June 26, 1741 – September 18, 1819) was an American politician andFounding Father fromNew Hampshire. He served as a delegate to theConstitutional Convention, signed theUnited States Constitution, and was one of the first twoUnited States senators from New Hampshire.
As a member of theContinental Congress, Langdon was an early supporter of theRevolutionary War. He later served in theUnited States Congress for 12 years, including as the firstpresident pro tempore of the Senate, before becoming president and latergovernor of New Hampshire. He turned down a nomination for U.S.vice presidential candidate in1812.
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Although information about John Langdon's specific ancestry is not widely available, it is known that his family had roots inEngland. His father, John Langdon Sr., was a descendant of English settlers who had come to theAmerican colonies. The Langdon family was part of the early wave of European settlers who arrived in New England in the 17th century, seeking new opportunities and religious freedom.
The Langdon surname is of Anglo-Saxon origin and is believed to have originated from multiple places in England. In the 17th century, the Langdon last name was particularly common in the southwestern counties of England, specifically in Cornwall and Devon. The name is derived from Old English words "lang" (meaning long) and "dūn" (meaning hill). It is a locational surname, meaning it was likely given to individuals who lived near a long hill or a similar geographical feature.
One example of a Langdon coat of arms, particularly associated with the Langdons of Cornwall and Devon, is described as follows: "Argent, a chevron between three escallops sable." In heraldic terms, this description indicates a silver or white shield (argent) featuring a black chevron (chevron sable) with three black scallop shells (escallops sable) placed above and below the chevron.
Langdon's father was a prosperous farmer and local shipbuilder whose family had emigrated to America before 1660 fromSheviock,Caradon,Cornwall.[1] The Langdons were among the first ofNew England's major seaports. Langdon attended the local grammar school run by a veteran of the 1745Siege of Louisbourg against the French atFortress of Louisbourg inNew France. After finishing his primary education, he and his older brother,Woodbury Langdon, rejected the opportunity to join in their father's successful agricultural livelihood and apprenticed themselves to local naval merchants.
By age 22, Langdon was captain of the cargo shipAndromache, sailing to theWest Indies. Four years later he owned his firstmerchantman and would continue over time to acquire a small fleet of vessels engaging in thetriangle trade between Portsmouth, theCaribbean, andLondon. His older brother was even more successful in international trade, and by 1777 both young men were among Portsmouth's wealthiest citizens.
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British control of the shipping industries limited Langdon's business, motivating him to become a vigorous and prominent supporter of the colonialAmerican revolutionary movement in the1770s. He served on the New Hampshire provincial committee of correspondence and a non-importation committee about British goods and also attended variousPatriot assemblies. In 1774, he participated in theseizure and confiscation of British munitions fromFort William and Mary atPortsmouth harbor.
Langdon served as a member delegate of theSecond Continental Congress from 1775 to 1776, serving as a member of its Marine Committee which supervised the beginnings of theContinental Navy. Eleven years later, he was also a delegate to theConstitutional Convention inPhiladelphia during the summer of 1787, and subsequently one of the signatories of theU.S. Constitution. He resigned from the Continental Congress in June 1776 to become an agent for the Continental naval forces against theBritish and superintended the construction of several new American warships including theRaleigh, theAmerica, and theRanger. The next year in 1777, he equipped an expedition against the British, participating in theBattle of Bennington further west in nearbyVermont, and commandingLangdon's Company of Light Horse Volunteers at the Battles ofSaratoga and atRhode Island.
In 1784, he built at Portsmouth the mansion now known as theGovernor John Langdon House. Langdon was elected to two terms as president of New Hampshire, once between 1785 and 1786 and again between 1788 and 1789. He was a member of theCongress of the Confederation in 1787 and became president of the Constitutional Convention in 1787, serving as a member of the New Hampshire delegation. Langdon was elected to the U.S. Senate and served from March 4, 1789, to March 3, 1801. He was elected the first president pro tempore of the Senate on April 6, 1789, and also served as president pro tempore during the Second Congress.
During the 1787 constitutional debates in Philadelphia, Langdon spoke out againstJames Madison's proposed "negative" on state laws simply because he felt that should the Senate be granted this power and not the House of Representatives, it would "hurt the feelings" of House members.[2][dubious –discuss] Langdon was an ardent supporter of the drive to ratify the Constitution of the United States in New Hampshire. On June 21, 1788, it was ratified by New Hampshire by a vote of 57-47. He immediately wrote toGeorge Washington to inform him that New Hampshire had become the ninth state which he described as the "Key Stone in the Great Arch.Joshua Atherton, who campaigned against ratification, accepted the result and stated, 'It's adopted. Let’s try it'”.[3]
In April 1789, Langdon served as president pro tempore of the U.S. Senate, prior to John Adams' election as vice president, and counted the votes of the electoral college in the first presidential election.
In 1798, Langdon assistedOney Judge to evadeBurwell Bassett, the nephew of George andMartha Washington, who had intended to kidnap Judge and return her to slavery with the Washingtons.[4] That July, he was one of four senators tooppose military force in theQuasi-War.[5]
Langdon served as a member of the New Hampshire Legislature (1801–1805), with the last two terms asspeaker; he served as governor of New Hampshire from 1805 to 1812, except for a year between 1809 and 1810 when he lost toJeremiah Smith.[6] Prior to again winning election as governor, Langdon unsuccessfully ran for governor in 1802,[7] 1803,[8] and 1804,[9] losing each time toJohn Taylor Gilman, whom he defeated in 1805. In 1808, his niece, Catherine Whipple Langdon, marriedEdmund Roberts.[10] Langdon declined the nomination to be a candidate for vice president withJames Madison in 1812.[11]
Langdon died in Portsmouth in 1819 and was interred at the Langdon Tomb in theNorth Cemetery.[12] The town ofLangdon, New Hampshire, is named after him,[13] as is Langdon Street inMadison, Wisconsin, a city with numerous streets named after Founding Fathers.[14]
His nephew, Henry Sherburne Langdon, married Ann Eustis and had a son named John Agustine Langdon Eustis. The latter emigrated to Argentina and died in Buenos Aires in 1876. He had many descendants, who in turn married into the high society of Argentina, such as the Saenz Valiente, Pueyrredon, Obarrio and Beccar Varela families.[15]
Judge Woodbury Langdon, of Portsmouth, N. H.; Delegate to the Continental Congress, 1779; President of N. H. Senate, 1784; Judge of the Superior Court of N. H., 1782–91....(a) Catherine Whipple Langdon: m. 1808, Edmund Roberts, of Portsmouth, N. H.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of New Hampshire 1785–1786 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of New Hampshire 1788–1789 | |
| Preceded by | Governor of New Hampshire 1805–1809 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Governor of New Hampshire 1810–1812 | Succeeded by |
| New office | President pro tempore of the United States Senate 1789 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | President pro tempore of the United States Senate 1792–1793 | Succeeded by |
| U.S. Senate | ||
| New seat | U.S. senator (Class 1) from New Hampshire 1789–1801 Served alongside:Paine Wingate,Samuel Livermore | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Timothy Walker | Democratic-Republican nominee forGovernor of New Hampshire 1802,1803,1804,1805,1806,1807,1808,1809,1810,1811 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Democratic-Republican nominee forVice President of the United States Withdrew 1812 | Succeeded by |
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| Class 3 | ||
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
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