- John A. Kasson
Infobox Congressman
name=John Adam Kasson
width=200px
state=Iowa
district=5th & 7th
party=Republican
term=March 4 ,1863 –March 3 ,1867 March 4 ,1873 –March 3 ,1877 March 4 ,1881 –July 13 ,1884
preceded="(none)"
"(none)"Edward H. Gillette
succeeded=Grenville M. Dodge Henry J. B. Cummings Hiram Y. Smith
date of birth=January 11 ,1822
place of birth=Charlotte, Vermont , USA
date of death=May 18 ,1910
place of death=Washington, D.C. , USA
spouse=
profession=Politician ,Lawyer
religion=
footnotes=John Adam Kasson (
January 11 ,1822 –May 18 ,1910 ) was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer fromIowa .Born in
Charlotte, Vermont to John Steele and Nancy (Blackman) Kasson, Kasson attended local school as a child and later graduated from theUniversity of Vermont in 1842. He studied law and was admitted to the bar, commencing practice inSt. Louis, Missouri . He moved toDes Moines, Iowa in 1857 and commenced practice there. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1860, and appointed First Assistant Postmaster General by PresidentAbraham Lincoln in 1861, serving until 1862, and was acommissioner from theUnited States to the International Postal Congress in Paris, France in 1863. Kasson was elected a Republican to theUnited States House of Representatives in 1862, serving from 1863 to 1867, being unsuccessful for reelection in 1866. There, he served as chairman of theUnited States House Committee on Coinage, Weights, and Measures from 1863 to 1867, during which time the Metric Act of 1866 [U.S. Metric Association. [http://lamar.colostate.edu/~hillger/laws/metric-act.html Metric Act (Kasson Act) of 1866.] Retrieved on27 August 2006 .] , which he drafted, was passed. Afterwards, he was acommissioner from theUnited States to negotiate postal conventions withGreat Britain ,France ,Belgium ,Holland ,Germany ,Switzerland andItaly in 1867, was a member of theIowa House of Representatives from 1868 to 1872 and was elected back to theUnited States House of Representatives in 1872, serving again from 1873 to 1877, not being a candidate for renomination in 1876. Kasson was appointed Ambassador to Austria-Hungary by PresidentRutherford B. Hayes in 1877, serving until 1881. At his suggestion, the four dollar Stella pattern coins were minted in 1879 and 1880 [Monaco Rare Coins. [http://www.zoomcoin.com/rare-coin-gallery/coin/four-dollar-gold-or-stella/ Four Dollar Gold or "Stella" ($4.00).] ] and was, once again, elected back to theUnited States House of Representatives in 1880, serving again from 1881 to 1884. He was appointed Ambassador to Germany by PresidentChester A. Arthur in 1884, serving until 1885, was a special envoy to the Congo International Conference in Berlin, Germany in 1885 and was a special envoy to the Samoan International Conference in 1889. Kasson was a specialcommissioner plenipotentiary from theUnited States to negotiate reciprocity treaties in 1897 and was a member of theUnited States and British Joint High Commission to adjust differences withCanada in 1898. He died inWashington, D.C. onMay 18 ,1910 and was interned in Woodland Cemetery inDes Moines, Iowa .References
External links
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=18521598 John A. Kasson] at
Find A Grave Persondata
NAME=Kasson, John Adam
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=Kasson, John A.
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Member ofU.S House of Representatives and anAmbassador
DATE OF BIRTH=January 11 ,1822
PLACE OF BIRTH=Charlotte, Vermont , USA
DATE OF DEATH=May 18 ,1910
PLACE OF DEATH=Washington, D.C. , USA
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