William Windom
Windomc. 1870–80
33rd and 39thUnited States Secretary of the Treasury
In office March 7, 1889 – January 29, 1891
President	Benjamin Harrison
Preceded by	Charles S. Fairchild
Succeeded by	Charles Foster
In office March 8, 1881 – November 13, 1881
President	James A. Garfield Chester A. Arthur
Preceded by	John Sherman
Succeeded by	Charles J. Folger
United States Senator fromMinnesota
In office November 15, 1881 – March 3, 1883
Preceded by	Alonzo J. Edgerton
Succeeded by	Dwight M. Sabin
In office March 4, 1871 – March 7, 1881
Preceded by	Ozora P. Stearns
Succeeded by	Alonzo J. Edgerton
In office July 15, 1870 – January 22, 1871
Appointed by	Horace Austin
Preceded by	Daniel Norton
Succeeded by	Ozora P. Stearns
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromMinnesota
In office March 4, 1859 – March 3, 1869
Preceded by	James M. Cavanaugh
Succeeded by	Morton S. Wilkinson
Constituency	At-large (1859–63) 1st district (1863–69)
Personal details
Born	(1827-05-10)May 10, 1827 Belmont County, Ohio, U.S.
Died	January 29, 1891(1891-01-29) (aged 63) New York City,New York, U.S.
Resting place	Rock Creek Cemetery
Political party	Republican
Signature

William Windom (May 10, 1827 – January 29, 1891) was an American politician fromMinnesota. He served asU.S. Representative from 1859 to 1869, and asU.S. Senator from 1870 to January 1871, from March 1871 to March 1881, and from November 1881 to 1883. He also served two non-consecutive times asSecretary of the Treasury from March to November 1881, and from 1889 to 1891, under three Presidents. He was aRepublican. He was the great-grandfather of actorWilliam Windom, who was named for him.

Windom was born inBelmont County, Ohio. He moved toMinnesota Territory in 1855 and settled in the town ofWinona on the banks of theMississippi River in southeastern Minnesota.^[1]: 249

Windom was elected U.S. Representative in 1859, filling one of Minnesota's two at-large seats.^[1]: 235 He was re-elected in 1861, again at-large. By 1862, Minnesota had established Congressional districts, and in that year he was re-elected fromMinnesota's 1st congressional district; and also in 1864 and 1866. He was not a candidate in 1868.

SenatorDaniel S. Norton died on July 14, 1870. On July 15, GovernorHorace Austin appointed Windom to the resulting vacancy, to serve until the legislature elected a replacement.^[1]: 290 When the legislature met in January 1871, they electedOzora P. Stearns to serve the last 41 days of the current term (January 22 – March 3), and elected Windom to serve the next full term, beginning March 4. Windom was re-elected in 1877, and served until March 7, 1881, when he resigned to becomeSecretary of the Treasury.

In the United States Senate, Windom was recognized as a strong advocate of railroad regulation. Indeed, in December 1872, he became the chairman of theSenate Select Committee on Transportation Routes to the Seaboard to investigate transportation practices. The select committee's report was submitted to the Senate on April 24, 1874, and was ordered to be printed the same day. The analytical report, among other conclusions and recommendations, recommended a Bureau of Commerce; it would have all the basic elements of theInterstate Commerce Commission, as created thirteen years later, in January 1887,^[2] and other follow-on. Almost 35 years later theProgressive EraInland Waterways Commission, looking into similar issues and many new ones, would recognize the "Report of the Windom Select Committee" as the third epoch in the movement toward developing the inland waterways of the country.^[3]

In 1880, Windom sought the Republican nomination forPresident.^[4] But at theRepublican National Convention, he received only 10 votes on the first ballot. The convention deadlocked, and after over 30 ballots began to consider choosing a "dark horse" candidate, such as Windom. But instead of Windom, they nominatedJames A. Garfield, who was subsequently elected president.^[5]

On March 7, 1881, Windom resigned from the Senate and was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by Garfield, taking office the next day.

Windom served as Treasury Secretary until November 13, when he resigned. On October 26, he was again elected Senator by theMinnesota Legislature, this time to fill the vacancy left by his own resignation. He re-assumed his Senate seat on November 15 and served until the end of his term on March 3, 1883. He sought re-election in 1882, but was defeated.

In 1883, he moved to New York City, where he practiced law until 1889. After PresidentBenjamin Harrison was elected in 1888, he appointed Windom as Secretary of the Treasury. Taking office on March 8, 1889, Windom served as Treasury Secretary until his death on January 29, 1891. He died while giving a speech in the famousDelmonico's Steak House in New York City.

Windom's engraved portrait appeared on the $2.00 denomination ofU.S. silver certificates from 1891 to 1896.Therevenue cutterUSSWindom was named for him, as was a World War IILiberty Ship.

The city ofWindom inCottonwood County, Minnesota is named for him.^[6]

Windom College inMontevideo, Minnesota is named for him.^[7]

Windom Park inWinona, Minnesota is named after him,^[8] as are Windom Northeast Park^[9] and Windom South Park^[10] inMinneapolis.

TheWindom^[11] andWindom Park^[12] neighborhoods inMinneapolis are named after him.

William Windom is the namesake ofWindom Peak, in Colorado.^[13]

• United States Congress."William Windom (id: W000629)".Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
• Treasury biography

• 1827 births
• 1891 deaths
• People from Belmont County, Ohio
• American Quakers
• United States secretaries of the treasury
• Republican Party United States senators from Minnesota
• Benjamin Harrison administration cabinet members
• Garfield administration cabinet members
• Arthur administration cabinet members
• New York (state) Republicans
• Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Minnesota
• Chairmen of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations
• 19th-century United States representatives
• 19th-century United States senators

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