- Horace Austin
Infobox Governor
name= Horace Austin
caption= Horace Austin
order= 6th
office= Governor of Minnesota
term_start=January 9 ,1870
term_end=January 7 ,1874
lieutenant=William H. Yale
predecessor=William Rainey Marshall
successor=Cushman Davis
birth_date= birth date|1831|10|15|mf=y
birth_place=Canterbury, Connecticut , U.S.
death_date= death date and age|1905|11|2|1831|10|15|mf=y
death_place=Minneapolis, Minnesota , U.S.
party= Republican
profession= lawyer, judge
spouse= Mary Lena Morill
religion=
footnotes=Horace Austin (
October 15 ,1831 ndashNovember 2 ,1905 ) was an Americanpolitician . He served as the 6thGovernor of Minnesota fromJanuary 9 ,1870 toJanuary 7 ,1874 . He was a Republican.A reputation for clearheaded objectivity and disdain for contentious party politics enhanced the appeal of Judge Horace Austin as a gubernatorial candidate in 1869. Minnesota's sixth governor was determined to bring legislative power to bear against the railroad barons. His advocacy of strictly regulated passenger and freight rates and his opposition to the wholesale allocation of state lands to railroad development earned him a second term. But he was unable to resolve completely the problems inherent in controlling a booming transportation industry and curbing the excesses of its owners.
Born in 1831 in
Canterbury, Connecticut , the son of a prosperousConnecticut farmer and graduate of a private academy, Austin taught school briefly before studying law. He was 25 when he moved to Minnesota and began practicing law in St. Peter. Six years later he joined the localFrontier Guards at the outbreak of theDakota War of 1862 . In 1869, while judge of the Sixth Judicial District, Austin impressed state Republican leaders with his fair-mindedness and won the gubernatorial nomination.Remaining in the public sphere after leaving the governor's office, Austin served as third auditor of the
U.S. Treasury in Washington, as register of the U.S. Land Office inFargo, North Dakota , and finally as a railroad commissioner. He devoted his last 16 years to travel and relaxation at hisLake Minnetonka home. He died in 1905 inMinneapolis, Minnesota .References
* [http://www.mnhs.org/people/governors/gov/gov_08.htm Minnesota Historical Society]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=6854288 Horace Austin] at Find-A-Grave
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